Student missing on Mount Rinjani

MATARAM, West Nusa Tenggara: A student at Bali's Udayana University was reported missing while trekking on Mount Rinjani in West Nusa Tenggara last week.

The student, identified as Mahawira, is the son of I Made Suarjaya, the director-general of Hindu and Buddhist affairs at the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

The head of the Mataram search and rescue team, Ida Bagus Budisma, said on Thursday Mahawira's parents in Denpasar had reported the disappearance of their son and his friend, Agus Tresna, on Aug. 11. The two had begun their trek on Aug. 9.

Agus was found alive but weak on the mountain, Budisma said.

"We received the report of the victims' disappearance on Aug. 11 at 8:35 p.m.," he said.

Agus was quoted as saying that Mahawira failed to return after going for water.

Seven members of the search and rescue have been deployed to search for Mahawira, assisted by 20 students from Udayana University. --JP