EFFORTS to locate missing Malaysia Everest 2023 (ME2023) climber Muhammad Hawari Hashim, 33, have resumed in earnest.

National mountaineer Tiong Ling Yang said his party communicated with mountain guides yesterday to continue the search and rescue (SAR) operation by land today.

Tiong said his team were still in shock over the disappearance of Hawari and the death of Kedah Civil Defence Force director Lieutenant Colonel Awang Askandar Ampuan Yaacub, 56, recently.

“I was told to head down to Everest Base Camp to manage the Hawari SAR operation while mission head, Azim Afif Ishak, handled the bringing down Awang Askandar’s remains to Camp 2 so that the body could be airlifted to the hospital for post-mortem,” he said when contacted by the New Straits Times.

He added that as of yesterday, Awang Askandar’s body was still at Camp 4 and could not be brought down due to several factors, including the weather.

Meanwhile, team manager Ayu Wanirah Naharudin said yesterday’s SAR was carried out by air, but there had been no sighting of Hawari so far.

On the day of the incident, Ayu Wanirah said she was with Azim Afif and Tiong at Camp 2 when they received the shocking news from a mountain guide via walkie-talkie.

The team lost contact with Hawari at 3.30pm Nepal time (5.45pm Malaysia time) after they were informed by Hawari of his success in reaching the peak last Thursday via walkie-talkie.

An SAR operation, comprising eight mountain guides, was mobilised on the same day, lasting until 11pm.

Organised by Altitude Exploration Club, ME2023 started a two-month mission to conquer the world’s highest peak on April 2 with the support of the government and the Youth and Sports Ministry.

The mission sought to promote unity and build the nation through ethnic diversity. – May 21, 2023.