26 elderly Malaysian tourists missing in Sichuan - The Star

BEIJING: A group of 26 elderly Malaysian tourists has been missing since Monday’s devastating earthquake that hit south-western Sichuan province as the death toll rose to nearly 15,000 and thousands were reported buried under the rubble of collapsed buildings and landslides.

Malaysian Consul-General in Kunming Ayauf Bachi said that while the fate of the group is still not known, there have been no reports of Malaysian casualties.

The consulate has sought the help of the Sichuan local government to trace the Malaysians, whose last known stop was in Maoxian, less than 50km from the epicentre of the quake in Wenchuan county.

“The Chinese authorities formed a special team this morning to look for foreign tourists. We are working with them on this,” he told Bernama.

He said the consulate was contacted on Tuesday evening by Ipoh-based Golden Dragon Tours, which had arranged the trip for the group, half of whom were elderly women.

The Chengdu local agent handling the tour said the agency had alerted tourism and communications authorities in Aba county near Maoxian after it failed to contact the tourist guide accompanying the group.

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