KUALA LUMPUR – Drones are being used in the search-and-rescue mission on Mount Everest for Muhammad Hawari Hashim, the New Straits Times reported.
Azim Afif Ishak, who heads the Malaysia Everest (ME2023) expedition, told NST that they were given five days by the Nepali authorities to search using this method, and have two days left until Wednesday.
However, he also said the search-and-rescue mission would decide after Wednesday what to do next.
The drones are searching the Camp Four area, which is in the “Death Zone”, the area at altitudes at 8,000m and above where oxygen is insufficient to sustain climbers.
Azim said all footage captured is analysed, and drone searches that covered camps Two and Three did not yield any clues as to Hawari’s whereabouts, NST quoted him as saying.
Hawari, 33, who is hearing impaired, was part of the ME2023 expedition and went missing during his descent from Camp Four. It was reported that he had reached the summit on May 19 at 3.30pm local time.
The physical search lasted until May 29 when the mountain was closed due to bad weather.
Youth and Sports Ministry secretary-general K. Nagulendran has said that the government has allocated RM1.48 million to find Hawari. – The Vibes, June 5, 2023
