Mountain hiker's body evacuated

BOGOR, West Java (JP): A joint search team evacuated on Sunday the body of 17-year-old Iman, one of the mountain hikers who went missing after an expedition on March 16.

Iman's body was found on the slopes of 2,050 meter high Mount Salak, alongside Ciapus River in Sukamantri village, only hundreds of meters from where the remains of another climber, Iwan, was located 10 days ago.

"The search team actually located Iman's body on Wednesday but due to the lack of adequate equipment and bad weather the evacuation team couldn't reach the site immediately," said Heri Macan, coordinator of the 50-member search and rescue team.

Iman's body was eventually taken to Sukamantri village around 1 p.m. on Sunday and handed over to his father, 45-year-old Nurdin.

The remains were then taken to PMI Hospital for a postmortem examination as it was already decomposing. Iman's body was buried in Kampung Pasir Mulya, Ciomas, later in the day.

Iman and Iwan were among a group of seven hikers who went to Mount Salak on an expedition early last month. They joined two other climbers, Mumuh and Agus, in seeking help for their three friends who had slipped into a ravine when they tried to climb a steep rock-face in the Sukamantri area.

Agus and Mumuh waited near the location, but decided to descend the mountain after Iman and Iwan did not show up after a day.

When Agus and Mumuh climbed back up the mountain, they found their two friends lying in a critical condition on the banks of Ciapus River.

It was Agus who then reported the incident to the nearby police office. (21/edt)