The 11 Taiwanese travelers who went to Nepal for mountain climbing have all reported their safety to their families. According to Yongsheng Travel Agency, which handled their flight bookings, after descending from the mountains, the group will first take a local domestic flight to Kathmandu. They are expected to fly back to Taiwan via a transfer in Hong Kong on Cathay Dragon Airlines on May 3, with 8 returning to Kaohsiung and 3 to Taipei.
Yongsheng Travel Agency Vice President Chien Ching-pin said that these 11 individuals are all friends who know each other well and formed a group that departed for Nepal on April 13 to challenge the high peaks. Eight of them left from Kaohsiung, and three from Taipei, transiting through Hong Kong before arriving in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.
Chien Ching-pin stated that among the 11, there are 4 men and 7 women, with about half being retirees in their 40s and 50s. Most of them have already been to Nepal for mountaineering and independent travel three times before. After the earthquake, there were no vehicles available in the mountainous areas, so the 11 had to make their way on foot.
He pointed out that the travel agency only handled flight bookings, and the 11 travelers made their own arrangements with a local mountain guide. Accommodation, meals, and the itinerary were all organized by the guide. On the morning of the 26th, the local guide posted a safety update on Facebook. Among them, a female traveler surnamed Li also called her family in Taiwan from an area with mobile reception to say, “Everyone is safe.”
He said that due to poor signal in the mountains, the 11 waited until they reached an area with better reception to take photos and upload them to Facebook to report their safety, including a group photo taken at a mountain hut on the evening of the 26th and another before setting off on the morning of the 27th.
Traveler Ms. Shi left a message on Facebook saying, “Thank you all for your concern. We are very safe, please rest assured, our good friends.” Ms. Wu also said on Facebook, “We are safe. Since we’re a mountaineering group, we mainly rely on walking. We still have six days left, and we will stay safe and return home on time.”
Chien Ching-pin said that the 11 spent the night at a mountain hut in Tatopani on the evening of the 26th, left around 10 a.m. on the 27th, and are expected to reach the foothills by the evening of the 27th. They will then take a flight to Kathmandu in the evening or on the morning of the 28th. They are scheduled to fly back to Taiwan on May 3, and there has been no word yet that any of the 11 wish to return home early.
(China Times)