Three Maltese climbers had successfully reached the summit of Mt Cho Oyu in the Himalayas, the sixth highest mountain in the world.
Robert Gatt, Gregory Attard and Marco Cremona, who form the Challenge 8000 team, started their last push to the summit (8,201metres) yesterday from camp 2 at 2,7100 metres. They reach the summit early this morning.
This was the first time ever that any Maltese climber has taken the Maltese flag on a mountain peak of that height.
A spokesman said the team members had reported being very tired even before leaving camp 2, but were still very determined to reach the top. The team are now back in camp one for rest. None of them has suffered from any serious altitude sickness.
In Spring 2010 the challenge8000 team will be the first Maltese team to attempt Mount Everest.
More details about the Cho Oyu and the Everest expeditions can be found on www.challenge8000.net