‘Missing’ SA tourists in Fish River Canyon accounted for

WINDHOEK, Namibia: All four tourists that were reported missing in the Fish River Canyon have been accounted for, Namibia’s Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism executive director The Nghitila said on Tuesday.

According to Nghitila, the tourists were never missing but could not be reached due to no network in the area.

He said the tourists were also senior citizens, who move at a slower pace, and were only delayed.

AFP reported earlier in the week that the missing tourists were South African citizens, who were part of a group of 10, who sent out a distress call on Saturday when they could not find their way out of the canyon, prompting a helicopter and ground search-and-rescue operation.

Six managed to get out on their own, but four remained missing by Monday afternoon in the canyon, 600km south of the capital Windhoek, Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) spokesperson Nelson Ashipala said.

The NWR “is aware of the four tourists that have been reported missing in the Fish River Canyon,” he said.

It’s not the first time that people have got lost in the canyon.

In 2016, two German nationals, a 47-year-old woman and her 28-yearold daughter, went missing and died in the Fish River Canyon, after they visited Namibia. In 2001, a French tourist died after a fall in the canyon.

Tourists flock to the canyon for its majestic but ragged hiking trail considered to be one of the most popular in Southern Africa. |