A team of climbers from the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute (HMI) in Darjeeling scaled the highest peak of Mt Kilimanjaro in Tanzania on Thursday.

The team, which was headed by Gp Capt. Jai Kishan, the principal of the HMI, included Uday Kumar, a physically-challenged person, and four others.

The expedition, which was named “K2K” — Khangchendzonga National Park (in Sikkim) to Kilimanjaro —, was carried out under the aegis of the defence ministry as a divyangjan (physically-challenged) expedition as it had Kumar as a team member.

Kilimanjaro is the highest peak on the African continent. At 19,341 feet, Uhuru Peak is the highest point of Kilimanjaro.

Sources said the climbers had started their journey to the base camp on August 4. “The expedition to scale Mt Kilimanjaro is a feat which symbolises the heights of physical endurance as well as the stretch of the human spirit,” said a source.

The team reached Kibo Hut, which is at an altitude of 15,500 feet, on August 7. There, the mountaineers displayed a 7,800-sqft Indian national flag.

“It was a monumental task to unfurl the flag but it was done by using ropes, ground nets and anchors,” the source said.

Around 3am on August 8, the team embarked on the final ascent to Uhuru Peak after considering the weather conditions and medical fitness of all the members.

“It was a gruelling 10-hour-long climb through terrains which include screes, an 85-degree gradient and an alpine desert. At 1pm, the team made it to the summit of Uhuru, standing at a height of 19,341 feet or 5,895 metres from the sea level,” said a statement issued by the defence ministry.

There, the team unfurled the Tricolor again.

“The team hailed the courage and determination of Uday Kumar, an amputee who completed the climb using crutches,” said a source.

On March 17, Kumar summitted Mt Rhenock, which is at 16,500 feet in the Khangchendzonga National Park in west Sikkim, as part of an expedition organised by the HMI.

Sources in the defence ministry said the expedition to Mt Kilimanjaro was likely to have some more achievements by next week.

The HMI is one of the premier mountaineering institutes in the world. Founded on November 4, 1954, by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the HMI functions under the defence ministry.