Namibia: Bodies of Missing Hikers Found in Fish River Canyon

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Namibia: Bodies of Missing Hikers Found in Fish River Canyon

7:12 CAT | 13 Jan 2016

The Namibian (File) / Fish River Canyon.

The bodies of two German nationals were found yesterday morning in the Fish River Canyon, six days after they went missing during a hike in scorching conditions.

The //Karas Police regional commander, Johannes Tsuseb, said police launched a search after the two – a mother and daughter aged 48 and 29 respectively – were reported missing on Saturday.

Tsuseb said the two had gone missing on Thursday from a local lodge near the Fish River Canyon where they had booked in on arrival.

According to Tsuseb, lodge employees assisted by E-Med Rescue have been searching for the pair since Thursday, and only reported them missing to the police on Saturday after search and rescue efforts proved futile.

“A police helicopter on Saturday started looking for the two, while officers were also searching for them on foot,” said Tsuseb.

The bodies of the two were seen from the helicopter ‘lying’ in the Fish River Canyon, some distance from a viewpoint, at around 10h50 yesterday morning, Tsuseb said.

Tsuseb said police have opened an inquest docket in connection with the deaths of the German nationals, adding a postmortem will soon be conducted to determine the exact cause of death.

In a statement issued yesterday, Namibia Wildlife Resorts (NWR) said the two German nationals, who have been in contact with the German Embassy, arrived in Namibia with the intent to collect the remains of their deceased relatives.

According to NWR, the two booked them in at one of the local lodges within the area of the canyon in order to have easy access to the hikers’ drop-off point at Hobas.

It is unclear why the two chose this time of the year to come to the canyon, as it is closed to all members of the public due to the extreme conditions that are experienced at this time of the year.

The NWR say they are doing everything within their power, in collaboration with their partners, to assist with recovering the bodies and they thank the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, E-Med Rescue and the Namibian Police for their assistance.

Source: The Namibian