VIRUDHUNAGAR: A five-year-old boy from P Puduppatti village near Kariyapatti in Virudhunagar district has become the third youngest climber in the world to scale Mount Kilimanjaro.

In a historic achievement, a team of 10 from Tamil Nadu — including five children — successfully climbed the Uhuru Peak of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest summit in Africa at 5,895 metres. The expedition was led by Muthamizhselvi, the first Tamil woman to summit Mount Everest.

The climbers included Sivavishnu (5) from P. Puduppatti, Pari (7) and Inba (10) from Kangayam, Manu Chakravarthi (12) from Coimbatore, Maheswari (25) from Chennai, Sakthivel (32) from Cuddalore, and Amarnath (40) from Kangayam. Additionally, Roshan Simha (13) from Tambaram, along with his father Babu, reached up to 4,720 metres.

Sivavishnu, from Virudhunagar district, is now recognised as the world’s third youngest to have climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. This marks the first time in history that a group of Tamil climbers — including five children and their parents — have successfully reached the summit together.