TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, Director for the Protection of Indonesians Citizens and Legal Entity (PWNI/BHI) of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, said that the three Indonesians that had previously been declared missing while scaling the peak of Mount Everest when an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter Scale occurred, have been found.
Iqbal explained over the phone to journalists at Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport in Banda Aceh, early morning on Thursday, April 30, 2015, that authorities arrived at the conclusion after having established contacts with other hikers that have been successfully rescued.
"We have managed to contact several sherpas to see whether any of them had seen any of the missing individuals," said Iqbal.
It is known that the three hikers previously reported as missing are members of the Taruna Hiking Club (THC) - namely Jeron, Alma, and Kadek. In relation to their conditions, the Indonesian Honorary Consulate in Nepal is still trying to gather more detailed information.
According to local residents, the three individuals are currently at a remote location, which hampers evacuation efforts as it is only reachable by helicopter for the time being.
"We are coordinating with Nepal's Ministry of Tourism, which has a helicopter that could help with the evacuation efforts. However, the vast amount of victims means that we have to wait because so many others are asking for the same thing," said Iqbal.
According to the PWNI/BHI Directorate, there are 95 Indonesian citizens in Nepal - 30 of which are permanent residents, while 65 others are tourists. Out of the 65 tourists, 42 have been successfully contacted, 10 have yet to be reached, while 13 have been airlifted out of Nepal.
ANTARANEWS
