Arunachal: Trying everything to find missing mountaineer, says tourism minister

Itanagar: The Arunachal Pradesh government is leaving no stone unturned to search for and rescue mountaineer Tapi Mra and his assistant Niku Dao, tourism minister Nakap Nalo said on Monday.

Nalo said Mra, apart from being the first from Arunachal Pradesh to scale Mt Everest, is from his Assembly constituency of Nacho. “I am in constant touch with the members of Mra’s family,” he said.

“At this moment, we can only express our concern to the family members of both Mra and Dao. All including Chief Minister Pema Khandu are monitoring the situation,” he said.

The members of Mra’s family said he had gone on a routine expedition and are hoping for a piece of good news on his and Dao’s whereabouts.

Experts from the Indian Army, mountaineers from the state and local porters reached the confluence of Kameng River and Wapria Bung on Monday. But the rescue team could not cross the confluence due to heavy rain.

“Bad weather in the area is also affecting the aerial search and rescue operation. Four helicopters are still on standby, waiting for the weather to clear for taking flight,” Nalo said.

The minister said the search and rescue operation will continue until concrete information is received about Mra and Dao.

“The conditions are very harsh. We cannot go against nature’s fury as it will be risky for the search and rescue teams too,” he said.

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