An earthquake struck Nepal, and 11 Taiwanese hikers had entrusted Yongsheng Travel Agency’s Kaohsiung branch to arrange their flights. The agency managed to contact them via Facebook and has confirmed that all 11 are safe. However, due to intermittent mobile phone signals in the area, long conversations were not possible.
Kaohsiung Yongsheng Travel Agency manager Chien Ching-pin said that 11 mountain-climbing enthusiasts had asked the agency to book their flights. They departed on April 13 and were scheduled to return on May 3. Eight of them left from Kaohsiung, and three from Taipei. They hired their own guide but only entrusted the agency with purchasing their plane tickets.
After the strong earthquake hit Nepal on the 25th, the agency made every effort to get in touch with the travelers, but searches through the Tourism Bureau and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ emergency center yielded no results. The local airport was closed, and there was no mobile phone signal.
It wasn’t until this morning that the agency managed to reach the group via Facebook. The guide replied with the message “All safe.” Around 11 a.m., some travelers also called Taiwan to report that all 11 members of the group were unharmed. The agency finally breathed a sigh of relief, but attempts to call back to Nepal were unsuccessful due to weak local communication signals.
The agency contacted the families of all 11 individuals one by one to inform them that their loved ones had reported being safe.
(China Times)