Jaigaon, May 29: Twenty-seven-year-old Karma Gyeltshen became the first person from the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan to summit Everest, 52 years after the world?s highest mountain was conquered.

Karma achieved the feat on May 21 at 11.45 am, said Soman Dorji, Karma?s father. ?Our son called us from a satellite phone after he returned to the base camp the day after he achieved the feat,? said the proud father.

This was the second attempt of the trained mountaineer from the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, Darjeeling, at scaling Everest. In 2003, he had returned defeated when bad weather forced him down from a height of 25,000 feet.

The climber has also conquered several other peaks of the Himalayas in Bhutan and Sikkim.

Karma?s parents and three sisters could be seen anxiously waiting for him to return. ?He told us he had suffered injuries to his face and eyes when he got caught in a blizzard while on his way up,? Dorji said.

He is admitted to a hospital in Paro, where he flew down today from Kathmandu.

?We expect him to return home in a week?s time,? his father said.