New Zealander Mark Inglis, the first double amputee to reach the summit of Mount Everest, was congratulated today by another keen climber – prime minister Helen Clark.

A New Zealand climber trying to become the first double amputee to reach the top of Mount Everest has snapped one of his two artificial legs on the ascent, his wife said today.

Four climbers were killed and two others injured in an avalanche on New Zealand’s second highest peak, Mount Tasman.