Indian teenager makes history by becoming youngest ever female to climb Mount Everest

Malavath Purna on her way to create history

Indian teenager Malavath Purna created history yesterday by becoming the youngest female mountaineer to scale the Mount Everest at the tender age of 13 years.

Another teenager Sadhanapalli Anand Kumar (16) accompanied Purna on this historic feat. Both Kumar and Purna, who are still school students, reached their destination on Sunday. The young pair from Andhra Pradesh’s Khammam district are students of the Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Educational Society.

A spokesperson for the society stated: "They climbed Everest at 6 am today after a 52-day long expedition. Purna created a record by becoming by youngest girl to climb the Everest.”

Purna and Kumar beat around 150 other children to have a shot at this historic event, which was an initiative by the society to promote excellence among students.

The society sent 20 chosen students to a prominent mountaineering institute in Darjeeling for training. Amongst them, nine were selected to be sent on an expedition to Indo-China border earlier.

On further screening, two students with a “higher degree of toughness and endurance” were sent to the Everest Expedition in April, the society announced. These two were Purna and Kumar.

The two students are now returning to the base camp, the official added.