Search for missing Melbourne University alumnus delayed on Mt Annapurna

KATHMANDU: Aerial search for a Malaysian climber who has gone missing on Mt Annapurna since Tuesday evening will be conducted on Thursday morning, the expedition organiser said.

Senior Anaesthesiologist Wui Kin Chin has gone missing while descending from the summit point of Mt Annapurna, the tenth highest mountain in the world.

“If weather allows, we will conduct an aerial search to locate the missing climber on Mt Annapurna tomorrow morning,” Mingma Sherpa, Chairman at Seven Summit Treks told THT this evening.

According to him, the search couldn’t be conducted today due to a lengthy insurance process. “It’s highly impossible to carry out search on foot above Camp IV on Mt Annapurna,” Sherpa claimed, adding that insurance clearance procedure has ultimately delayed the search mission.

The 49-year-old University of Melbourne alumnus was a part of the 13-member expedition led by French climber Barobian Michel Christian. “Kin Chin among 32 climbers successfully stood atop the 8,091-metre mountain at around 4:10 pm on Tuesday,” Sherpa said, adding that other climbers have already descended to Camp II.

Visiting senior consultant at Singapore-based Ng Teng Fong General Hospital Kin Chin had successfully climbed Mt Everest completing the Seven Summits in the last spring season.

Having the specialty interests on Geriatric Anaesthesia, Peri-operative Medicine and Intensive Care Medicine, Kin Chin along with his wife Thanaporn Lorchirachoonkul also runs Chin Anaesthetic Consultant Pte Ltd in Singapore, according to sources.

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