KATHMANDU, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Nepalese Kami Rita Sherpa on Tuesday scaled the world's highest peak Qomolangma for the 24th times, the highest number of reaching the top, a government official confirmed here.

Sherpa, 49-year-old, had just reached the 8,848-meter-high Qomolangma for the 23rd times only six days ago, breaking his own record.

"He reached the summit today (Tuesday) at 6:38 a.m. local time along with other climbers. It is great news for us," Meera Acharya, an official at the country's Department of Tourism told Xinhua by phone from the base camp.

Sherpa, a resident of Thame village in Solukhumbu district of Nepal, shared his record of 21 summits with Nepali climbers Apa Sherpa and Phurba Tashi Sherpa, both of whom have already announced retirement.

Kami Rita Sherpa made the maiden ascent of Qomolangma in 1994 when he was 24 years old.

He has already climbed most of the peaks above 8,000 meters including K2 and Annapurna, among others.

The short climbing window, which depends on favorable weather, generally falls in mid-May.

As many as 5,000 climbers have already scaled the world's highest peak Qomolangma since 1953, according to the official records of the Tourism Department of Nepal.

Tourism is one of the major source of income for the Himalayan country, home to eight of the world's 14 highest mountains.