Friday May 16, 2008 MYT 3:21:16 PM
26 Malaysian tourists safe but stranded (updated)
By CELESTE FONG
CHENGDU: The 26 Malaysian tourists who were feared missing in the Monday earthquake in Sichuan are safe.
According to Chengdu Overseas Tourist Corporation’s Zhang Xiao, the local tour guide for the group has contacted his family to say they are all safe.
“The latest news came at around 10am just now (Friday),” he said when contacted here.
The tour guide had also called the boss of a travel agency in Xiamen to report the safety of the group after making a call home.
“The group is safe,” he confirmed.
Malaysian consul-general in Kunming Ayauf Bachi and another Malaysian Embassy official from Beijing later met Sichuan Foreign Affairs officials here.
"I met the Sicuan Foreign Affairs officer just now and put across our concern especially for the 26 Malaysian tourists from Ipoh, their local guide and driver accompanying them," said Ayauf.
He said the Sichuan provincial government was quite concerned and was making efforts to confirm the location of the group.
"We hope priority will be given to the elderly.
"Move them out of Maoxian (where the group is stranded) to a safe place," he added.
Expressing his concern, Ayauf said: "We pray to God the Malaysian tourists are all safe."
He said the Malaysian embassy was getting the Sichuan provincial government's assistance to get to Maoxian.
Maoxian is about 150km from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan but Maoxian is still inaccessible unless by foot.
"Communications are cut off. I believe if a local guide was able to inform the family, they are probably in Maoxian.
"Unfortunately, we have no satellite facility or any local number we can call.
"We now very much depend on the good office of the Sichuan government.
"We want to go to Maoxian as soon as possible, as soon as we obtain enough information on how best we can help and solve the matter.
"We are meeting the local agency to discuss the best means or ways to arrange for the stranded Malaysians to go home," Ayauf told The Star in an interview.
A tremor occurred during the end of the interview.
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