Renowned female mountaineer dies of diabetes

Chinese mountaineer Panduo, the first woman to ascend Mount Qomolangma, known as Mount Everest in the West, from the northern slope, died of diabetes on Monday, China News Service reported.

Panduo, who reached the summit of the world's highest peak, Qomolangma (8,848 meters), from the challenging north route on May 27, 1975, passed away at the age of 75 in a hospital in Wuxi, Jiangsu province on Monday morning, the report said.

Hailing from Changdu county in the eastern Tibet autonomous region, Panduo started mountain climbing in 1958 and made her name after successfully scaling the 7,546-meter Mount Muztagata on July 7, 1959.

After her retirement, Panduo focused on cultivating youth climbers and inspired more female mountaineers to challenge themselves, said Wang Yongfeng, captain of the Chinese National Mountaineering Team.

Nyima Tsering, head of the Tibet Mountaineering Team and president of the Tibet Mountaineering School, said Panduo's death was a great loss to the world mountaineering community.

"The whole mountain-climbing world should mourn for her," he was quoted by China News Service as saying on Monday.