Image: dpa
“We have to confirm that an Austrian citizen has been missing in the border area between the UAE and Oman since Saturday,” said the Foreign Ministry in Vienna on Monday evening. The search and rescue operation has been ongoing since then, it said. The Austrian embassies in Abu Dhabi and in the Oman capital Muscat “are in constant contact with the local authorities and are available to support the relatives,” the ministry said. No further information was given.
Like the missing man’s sister Wiener’s Karim Azman told the “Kurier” that the 27-year-old wanted to go the difficult “Wadi Naqab” trail. According to the newspaper, she last heard from her brother on Friday: “He made an agreement with a group on the ‘Couchsurfing’ platform, but then went off alone.” The others, some of whom are said to be more experienced hikers, apparently did not want to go the way. They agreed on a meeting place, but Karim didn’t show up an hour later as agreed, wrote the paper.
The group then alerted the local police, who launched a large-scale search operation. According to the missing person’s sister, helicopters, a search party and rescue workers were or are in action. The Austrian should have food and water with him for about a day, according to the “Kurier”.
Source: Nachrichten
