IMPHAL: Three climbers, including a Manipuri girl, all part of a team of mountaineers from the northeast, successfully scaled

Mount Everest

on Friday morning.

N Bidyapati Devi created history by becoming the first woman from Manipur to summit the highest peak of the world. The other two Everesters are Anand Gurung of

Sikkim

and Nima

Lama

of Arunachal Pradesh.

The three are among 16 climbers of the 1st NE India on Top of the World (Mt Everest) Expedition 2013', whose first leg was flagged off by governor Gurbachan Jagat on February 25 from the historic Kangla fort in Imphal. President

Pranab Mukherjee

had flagged off the second leg of the expedition, conducted under the aegis of the Manipur Mountaineering and Trekking Association (MMTA), from Rastrapati Bhavan on March 20.

Of the trio, Anand Gurung was the first to summit Mt Everest (8848 ft) at 7:35am (IST) followed by Nima Lama at 8:30am (IST) and Bidyapati 9:30am, said the expedition's PRO Santosh Shekhar.

Other members of the team are waiting for opportune climate to attempt the summit, the statement said, adding that the team had arrived at the Everest Base Camp on April 5. After undergoing acclimatization, it reached Camp III on April 30.

Team leader L Surjit, who is also the President of MMTA, advised the other climbers to make a bid for the summit on Saturday due to strong wind blowing on Friday.

Notably, Nongmaithem

Suraj Singh

became the first Manipuri to scale Mt Everest in May 2008.