First woman to climb Everest dies aged 77

The first woman to climb Mount Everest has died aged 77, according to reports yesterday.

Junko Tabei died on Thursday of cancer at a hospital near Tokyo.

Tabei reached the summit of the world’s highest mountain in 1975.

In 1992, she also became the first woman to complete the “seven summits”, reaching the highest peaks of the seven continents.

She gained world fame after Everest, but played it down, telling

in a 1996 profile: “I was the 36th person to climb Everest.”