KUALA LUMPUR, April 10 — A team of 15 Nepalese policemen is spearheading a search and rescue (SAR) operation to locate a Malaysian amateur climber who was reported missing while crossing the Pokhara-Mustang route in Western Nepal on Sunday.

Malaysian Embassy Counsellor/Charge d’Affaires in Kathmandu, Fadli Adilah, said the SAR to find businessman Dennis Lee Thian Poh, 48, was carried out with the assistance of villagers and deployment of three sniffer dogs.

Lee’s wife, Jennifer E Peters arrived at the location this morning by private helicopter.

“Peters has also engaged the services of a private search company which uses sniffer dogs since her arrival at Pokhara yesterday,” he said when contacted by Bernama here today.

Fadli said leaflets on Lee’s disappearance were also distributed to villagers and other climbers in the area this morning to seek their assistance.

He said the embassy would continue to liaise with the Nepalese police at Kathmandu and Pokhara to monitor the progress of the search.

Lee had joined eight colleagues from the Philippines to scale the Annapurna circuit in Nepal.

The group only became aware of his disappearance at the Khopra Danda Track in Ghorepani area on Sunday, on the first day of their circuit climb. — Bernama