TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Crisis Center Team of Taruna Hiking Club (THC) has yet to be able to determine the whereabouts of three of its climbers who were in Nepal when a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck Kathmandu on Saturday, April 25, 2015.
"We have yet to establish any form of communication with our crews in Nepal, and cell reception there is weak at best after the quake," THC representative Grahito Handaru told Antara on Monday.
The three THC members that went to Nepal to scale the Yalateak and Naya Kanga peaks are Jeroen Hehuwat, Kadek Andana and Alma Parahita.
"The last time we heard from them, they told us that they had reached Kuanyang, but had yet to begin their ascent to the peak, and then the quake struck," said Handaru, who said that his colleagues were in Langtang Village to begin acclimatizing prior to moving to Khyangin Gompa.
It is known that the THC members left Indonesia for Nepal on April 19, 2015, from Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Tangerang, Banten. "Upon their arrival in Kathmandu, we were still able to communicate with them. They said that they're preparing for their climb and had managed to rendezvous with the tour operator," said Handaru.
Handaru said that THC had coordinated with Indonesia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the International Red Cross in order to help locate his missing colleagues.
"We've alerted the ministry about our missing colleagues, as well as to the Red Cross. We hope that we could hear from them soon," said Handaru.
ANTARA
