Nepalese police have asked local television and radio stations and guides to help search for a young Taiwanese couple missing in the Himalayas since March 3, a Nepalese police officer said on Monday.
Liang Sheng-yue (梁聖岳), 21, and Liu Chen-chun (劉宸君), freshmen at National Dong Hwa University, arrived in Nepal last month and went hiking in Tamang on Feb. 22.
They last contacted their families on March 3 and were scheduled to call again on March 10, but did not do so, and on March 15 family members requested official help to locate the pair.
The officer at Nepal Police Headquarters said helicopters had also been dispatched.
A deputy police chief on Sunday met with the family members who had traveled to Nepal to help the search, along with by India-based Taiwanese officials, the officer said.
With consent from the family members, police hired three guides to search for Liang and Liu on possible routes leading to Langtang Village, where they were supposed to meet up with some Taiwanese friends, the officer said.
Taiwanese officials in India have also contacted the Himalaya Rescue Association and Trekking Agencies’ Association of Nepal to help in the search.
However, continued snow and occasional avalanches in the target areas have made it difficult to expand their search, local travel agencies have said.
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