World pays last respects to Everest conqueror Hillary

Sherpas, mountaineers and a grateful nation mourned Everest conqueror Sir Edmund Hillary at a state funeral Tuesday, more than half a century after he first stood on the roof of the world.

Thousands of mourners packed the church in Auckland, lined the streets as his coffin was driven by or watched on giant screens across New Zealand to pay their last respects to a man Prime Minister Helen Clark called a colossus.

The funeral was beamed around the world, including Antartica where Hillary also led the first expedition to the South Pole by vehicle.

It was not, however, broadcast live in Nepal, contrary to earlier reports, because of the time difference.

At the start of the ceremony, Sherpa representatives laid Buddhist mourning scarves over the coffin, draped in a New Zealand flag and bearing the ice axe he used during his epic 1953 ascent.

Afterwards, the casket was borne out of the church through an honour guard of mountaineers, their ice picks held aloft in salute.