DOUBLE AMPUTEE EVEREST CLIMBER - AP.jpg
Hari Budha Magar, former Gurkha veteran and double amputee climber who scaled Mount Everest, is welcomed upon arrival at the airport in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tuesday, May 23, 2023. The former Gurkha veteran had lost both his legs in Afghanistan when he accidentally stepped on an improvised explosive device in 2010. Magar, who was a soldier in the Gurkha regiment, was born in a remote mountain village in Nepal and later was recruited by the British army. He now lives with his family in Canterbury, England. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The first double above-the-knee amputee to climb Mount Everest has returned from the mountain pledging to dedicate the rest of his life to helping people with disabilities. Hari Budha Magar, a former Gurkha soldier who lives in Britain, reached the peak of the world’s highest mountain last week. Magar lost both his legs while fighting in the British army in Afghanistan when he accidently stepped on an improvised explosive device in 2010. Hundreds of supporters and officials, including Nepal’s tourism minister, greeted him at Kathmandu’s airport on Tuesday and offered him garlands.

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