Missing Taiwanese Man Found after 40 days, Girl's body recovered
Usually Nepal has always been a safe destination for travelers and trekkers. However these type of tragic incidents happens sometimes unwillingly. Therefore to minimize these tragic happenings, missing outs and deaths on treks, the awareness on importance of trekking with reputed trekking company should be promoted.
There is no control over natural disasters and other unforseen situations like bad weather conditions, snowfall, however, a professional local guide from reputed company can mostly minimize these type of accidents. From getting the things packed before trekking, preparations to taking right steps while walking through tough challenging terrains is important. Taking right decision at right time is the key for safety and successful completion of trekking trips. And when it comes to off the beaten path treks like Ruby Valley, then we can say that hiring a guide is like compulsary, not only to enojy the trip, but also to stay on safe side and complete the adventure as planned.
If we see the past news, we have heard about similar tragic incidents taking lives and missing trekkers who took decision to trek independently. We are not against solo independent travel, but going with professional guide from reputed trekking company can be a matter of life and death. Finally we, Icicles team prays departed soul of Taiwanese girl may Liu Chen-Chun rest in peace. Heartfelt condolences.
Here is the news as published on Republica daily newspaper as of April 27, 2017:
KATHMANDU, April 27: Of the Taiwanese couple which had gone missing 40 days ago during trekking in Dhading's Ruby Valley - the base camp area of Ganesh Himal - the man has been found alive on Wednesday while his girlfriend's dead body has been recovered.
A rescue team found Liang Sheng-Yuen alive but his partner Liu Chen-Chun could not make it. Yuen and his partner's body have been airlifted to Kathmandu after the rescue. The survivor Yuen is currently undergoing treatment at Grande Hospital in the capital while the deceased's body has been kept at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in the capital for post-mortem.
Grande Hospital said that Yuen is in critical condition. He has weakened greatly. According to the hospital administration, he can barely speak. After surviving in the wild for over a month, he weighs just 30 kg.
The couple is believed to have slipped off the snow-clad trails between Pandas Pass and Somdong village over a month ago, said Pradeep Karki, in-charge of the TIMS department of the Trekking Agencies" Association of Nepal (TAAN).
“When they went missing, the weather condition was so bad that a rescue team could not be sent even after four days. But they couldn't be located after the weather got better and their search and rescue operations began,” said Karki.
The survivor informed that his partner Chun died just three days ago.
“They slipped off the trail down to 200 meters. Initially, they survived on noodles they had packed, which lasted for about five days. After that, they said they survived on nearby fresh water and salt which they had carried,” informed Karki.
The itinerary sent by the relatives of the victims show that the couple had planned to start their trip from Trisuli on February 22 and reach Shyapru Besi on March 22 and then forward to Kyanjin Gumba to stay there in camps for four days. They had planned to return to Kathmandu on March 30.
“On 28 February, the couple was in Sertung and they stayed for three days in Tipling, as per the locals. In my opinion, they moved from Tipling to Somdang via Pangsang Pass on March 3 before meeting the unfortunate incident,” said Karki, adding, “On Wednesday, they were found near Narchet Khola, which lies between Pangsang Pass and Somdang. From this, I can say that they had fallen off the trail near Narchet Khola on March 3,” said Karki.
The Kathmandu-based Asian Trekking Pvt Ltd rescued them after being informed by the locals. Sources at TAAN said that the family members of the victims are preparing to arrive in Nepal on Saturday. The family of the deceased has requested the authorities not to perform her post-mortem until they arrive in Nepal.
