By Soon Li Wei
KUALA LUMPUR: A group of nine Malaysian climbers to Everest Base Camp (EBC) was reported to be stranded in Lukla and Kathmandu, Nepal since March 23. The group is appealing to Wisma Putra to bring them home.
They were stranded in Nepal after the government announced its lockdown, which also banned all domestic and international flights in the country since Tuesday to curb the spread of Covid-19.
The group’s spokesperson, Dr Jeevitha Brama Kumar, 31, said nine of them, including herself, arrived in Kathmandu on March 11, took a domestic flight to Lukla and completed their gruelling trek on March 23.
The medical doctor said when the Nepal government imposed its one-week lockdown on March 24, her team of four were scheduled to depart to Kathmandu from Lukla on the same day.
“The other five members of our group were unwell at the EBC itself, and they were choppered out to Kathmandu on March 22, which is two days before the completion of the trek..
“We are currently stuck in the tiny village of Lukla, we haven’t showered for 16 days and are coping very hard with the the freezing temperatures, without proper heating and erratic electricity. Moreover, we need to pay to charge our mobile phones, for wi-fi connection, for food, and water… Our limited funds and inablity to make cash withdrawals from the ATMs force us to ration our money and we are prohibited to go beyond the confineds of our lodge,” she told Bernama through WhatsApp yesterday.
She further explains of their innitial plan which was to fly from Kathmandu to Kuala Lumpur on March 29, but with the movement control order (MCO) in Malaysia being extended, their flight has now been pushed to April 15.
“We left Malaysia before any travel restrictions were laid down, looking at the growing number of Covid-19 cases, we even made innitiatives in shortening our trip.
“But right now, nobody is allowed to trek anymore. All the Malaysians in the Everest region are in Namche Bazaar, Phakding, and Lukla.
“Every time we book a flight, it gets cancelled. Some people have even booked four different flights to get home, but it keeps getting cancelled,” she said.
Hence, Dr Jeevitha said they have contacted the Malaysian Embassy in Kathmandu, giving their personal details and flight number, though the response received is still an overwhelming retraction.
“Never did we imagine that the hardest part of our experience would be ending up stranded in Nepal, not knowing when we can return home,” she said.
When contacted by Bernama, the embassy’s spokesman said they were still trying to reach all the Malaysians who are stuck in Nepal.
“Currently, a total of 35 Malaysians are stranded in Nepal. We are still trying to reach out to the rest of them outside Kathmandu at this moment.
“Once we get the updated list, we will forward it to Wisma Putra, we want to ensure their safety before send them home,” he said.
The Nepal government on Monday announced a nationwide lockdown on March 24 till March 31 in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. – Bernama
