NSG Team Returns to Delhi After Summiting Mount Everest

A 7-member team of the NSG, led by Lt Col J P Kumar, successfully unfurled the Indian flag at Mt Everest.

A seven-member team of the National Security Guard (NSG), led by Lt Col J P Kumar, successfully unfurled the Indian flag at the 8,848-metre tall peak.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/National Security Guard)

A National Security Guards' team on Monday, 3 June, returned to Delhi after summiting at Mount Everest. The team received a warm welcome at the Indira Gandhi International Airport as they returned to the national capital.

A seven-member team of the National Security Guard (NSG), led by Lt Col J P Kumar, successfully unfurled the Indian flag at the 8,848-metre tall peak at about 7 am on 16 May, the official said.

"The team adopted the southeastern approach via South Col in Solukhumbhu region of Nepal," a statement from NSG said.

NSG Director General Sudeep Lakhtakia had congratulated the team, saying “Everest demands doggedness, tenacity, perseverance, courage and multiple skills to survive in toughest conditions. The NSG commandos have all these qualities.”

The 12-member team was flagged off by Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba on 29 March from Delhi. Five other members of the team summited the peak on 22 May as per schedule, according to the statement.

This was the first expedition of the NSG to the Mount Everest and the force has been preparing for it since 2017, the official had said.

The NSG, called as “black cats,” was raised in 1984 as a federal counter-terror and counter-hijack contingency force. It has five hubs in the country to undertake these operations.

(With inputs from PTI)