Filipino mountaineer Heracleo Oracion, leading climber of the First Philippine Mount Qomolangma Expedition, reached the summit of the world on Wednesday afternoon, raising his national flag atop for the very first time, the Philippines' largest TV station reported.

In relatively clear weather, Oracion stepped on the Qomolangma's peak, which is at a height of 8,848 meters above the sea level, at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. He unfolded and hoisted the Philippine national flag on top of the highest mountain for the first time, the ANC TV footage showed.

The 32-year-old Oracion packed his gear and left Camp Four(8,000 meters) past 9:00 p.m. Tuesday. He went with only one Sherpa guide. Camp Four is the last stopover before the summit of the earth's highest peak, according to the TV report.

A second member of the Filipino Expedition, Erwin Emata, was also headed for Camp Four from Camp Three(7,000 meters), acting as a backup climber in case of Oracion's bad luck. He will try to scale the summit on Thursday as scheduled.

The team decided to reach the summit one climber at a time, which is a strategy to ensure at least one of them will reach the highest point, the report said.

Both Oracion and Emata trained themselves for at least three years before beginning their ascent on the Qomolangma.

The Filipino Expedition was established in March 2004, with an initial plan to conquer the Qomolangma in 2007. Coming from a tropical country without any mountain above 3,000 meters, the Qomolangma climbers have overcome difficulties such as freezing temperature, lack of oxygen and body dehydration.

Source: Xinhua