Indian, among three skydivers to jump over Mount Everest

Gorak shep (Nepal), Sep 23(ANI): Three skydivers, including one Indian and two British nationals, achieved an astounding feat on Tuesday when they jumped from an altitude of 6,154 metres (20,000 feet) to land at Gorak Shep, world's highest drop zone, near Mount Everest.The three, Ramesh Chandra Tripathi, Leo Dickinson and Ralph Mitchell, were excited with the successful jump, and expressed their delight at reaching the sandy plateau, which is 5,165 metres above sea level.

"It was thrilling and exhilarating to be so close to Everest. It offers a totally different challenge in terms of high winds and freezing temperatures. The wind was drifting me away. The chances of falling into crevasses or hitting the ridges and glaciers was high but it is worth fighting against the odds of nature," The Telegraph quoted Tripathi, a parajump instructor for the Indian Air Force, as saying.

Dickinson, a British documentary filmmaker, said that the whole experience was amazing and he was thrilled to fly over the mountains.

"It was not just Everest. I could see the whole panorama of fantastic mountains and it was just amazing. You have got the mountains rushing past you. I just didn't want it to end. I had a freefall for four seconds and in the next three minutes I was already landing," Dickinson said.

Gorak Shep is the final acclimatization stop for most common treks to Everest Base Camp. The Dalai Lama also dubs it as "the steps to heaven". (ANI)