POKHARA, JULY 25: A Romanian tourist, Adina Monica Popescu, 26, has gone missing from July 16 in Annapurna Region Trekking. She was trekking along Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) route alone.
She had entered the Annapurna region after buying permit from Annapurna Conservation Area Project Permit Counter on July 12. She was scheduled to get back to Pokhara on July 17.
She had made a contact with the ACAP Check post at Chhomrong for the last time on July 16, according to Rashmi Acharya, tourist officer at ACAP. “Locals have informed that they had seen her at New Bride on her way to Pokhara,” she added.
Adina had sent some photos taken during her trek to her friends and family on July 16. A team led by Sub Inspector of Nepal Police Bhattaram Gurung has been deployed to search for her. “We have already started the search operation,” Gurung said.
Adina had entered Nepal on July 11 and had planned to return to her home in Bucharest, Romania, on July 21.
After her parents found out that she was not among the passengers in her return flight of July 21, they alerted the Nepalese authorities.
"Adina is not in contact with any agency or person though her visa to Nepal is expiring on Monday," said Ram Chandra Sharma, president of Trekking Agencies Association of Nepal (TAAN) western region chapter.
He said that Nepalese tourism entrepreneurs constantly advise tourists not to trek alone for their own safety.
“The chances of a tourist missing will come down if hiring a guide or a porter while trekking is made mandatory," he said.
Trekking alone is always risky as the chances of falling down from a cliff and being attacked by a wild animal always remains high, he said.
Solo trekker missing for a week in Annapurna Range
