Trekker found after 47 days

Trekking officials in Nepal have rescued a Taiwanese man who was missing on a mountain for 47 days, but his girlfriend had died just three days before they were discovered.

Asian Trekking agency official Madhav Basnet said 21-year-old Liang Sheng Yueh was found on the ledge of a waterfall and was flown by helicopter to a hospital in the capital, Kathmandu.

He said the body of his girlfriend, 19-year-old Liu Chen Chun, was also taken to the capital.

A doctor at Grande Hospital in Kathmandu, Ajay Singh Thapa, said the rescued man was in good health with no major injuries, and that it appeared he had survived on water and salt for most of the time.

According to Basnet, they appeared to have followed a river hoping to find a village but slipped and fell over a waterfall. They landed on the ledge and were unable to climb up or down. The area is at an altitude of 2600m.

The couple had no guides or porters and were carrying their own food, tent and sleeping bags.

“He appears exhausted and lost some 30 kilograms of body weight,” said Thapa. “He was suffering from severe malnutrition. His foot was covered with maggots and hair full of lice. Despite having to live like that for 47 days, he appears to be mostly normal.”

Before going missing, the pair were in contact with their families on March 3. Liang and Liu failed to call again as scheduled on March 10, and five days later family members asked for help to find them.

The hikers were supposed to meet up with friends in Langtang Village, and possible routes leading to that location were scoured.

The Taipei Times reported that police hired three guides to find the National Dong Hwa University students, but heavy snowfall and occasional avalanches hindered their progress. — AP