Sri Lanka, Oct. 17 -- Kanchha Sherpa, the last surviving member of the first expedition to successfully scale the summit of Mount Everest, has died in the Nepali capital Kathmandu, aged 92.

His family said he had recently become unwell.

Kanchha Sherpa was 19 when he accompanied the historic team led by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay to the top of the world's tallest mountain in 1953.

He joined the 35-member expedition as a porter despite no prior mountaineering experience. On the arduous trek lasting more than two weeks, he carried food, tents and equipment up to base camp - and was one of three Sherpas to make it past an altitude of 8,000m (26,247ft).

Fellow Nepali mountain guides have described him as a legend and an inspiration....