KUALA LUMPUR: A body discovered on Mount Damavand, Iran on Friday is believed to that of a Malaysian.
This has raised questions on whether the remains are those of Ramli Abdul Majid, a climber who went missing over a year ago in the same area.
Ramli disappeared in November last year at Mount Damavand with his friend, Syed Redzuan Syed Salim Shatri, at the height of 4,200 metres.
The body of Syed Redzuan was found six days after he was reported missing, but Ramli's body was never discovered.
According to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), the body was found by a group of climbers who were descending the mountain at 4,300 metres on Friday, but body transportation operations only took place yesterday.
When contacted, Ramli's wife, Roslida Ablah, 42, said she had not received any news from any quarters, including the Malaysian Embassy in Tehran, about the discovery of the body.
At the same time, she said she felt anguish, as Iranian media confirmed that the body was that of a Malaysian climber who went missing a year ago – but the identity has not been established.
Meanwhile, Khafiz Bachok, a climber who led Ramli's search and rescue operation a year ago said he is still waiting for confirmation from the Malaysian Embassy in Tehran.
"We need to wait for an official statement from the Malaysian Embassy," he said.
In the Nov 20, 2016 incident, Syed Redzuan, 50, and Ramli, 45, disappeared on Mount Damavand after being separated from other climbers.
Eight of 12 climbers in the group started hiking to the summit when the weather was good from the third base camp at 4,200 metres early in the morning.
Only two climbers reached the top, while six others, including Syed Redzuan and Ramli, were redirected at the height of 5,200 metres, between 12 noon and 2pm, as time needed to reach the summit was insufficient.
However, Syed Redzuan and Ramli were determined to join a Turkish climber to the summit before they were reported missing.
Syed Redzuan's body was found six days after being reported missing by the search and rescue (SAR) team at Yakhar Glacier.
He is believed to have fallen from a height of 4,100 metres.
The search mission for Ramli was continued by the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) and the SAR operation 'Mencari Abang Ram', led by Khafiz and his hiker friend Muhamad Aliff Abdullah.
Khafiz, a climber from Johor who once conquered Mount Damavand in 2011, was quoted as saying that the mission continued because they felt that the Proton system engineer could be found safe.
Last July, the third search mission for Ramli was carried out by Khafiz with three other climbers from the Alpine Tour Club (KJA), namely Muhammad Illaham Ishak, 40, Azwawi Ismail, 38 and Mohd Azraie Md Yusof, 34.
Khafiz, who was also head of the mission, reportedly said that the SAR mission was done then as the Tehran climate was entering summer, and snow covering the mountain was beginning to melt.
Translated from Berita Harian