Ace Indian mountaineer from Andhra Pradesh goes missing in Andes

Mumbai: One of India's top mountaineers, Malli Mastan Babu has reportedly gone missing from the Andes Mountains between Argentina and Chile during a solo expedition.

40-year-old Babu hails from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh and has close to 10 to 12 years of experience of climbing mountain peaks.

Babu’s began his expedition on March 24^th. He was attempting to climb the mountain range along the Argentina-Chile border from the base camp of Cerro Tres Cruces.

However, he did not return to the base camp on March 25. His friends and fellow climbers tried establishing contact with him, but his GPS device too could not be tracked.

His family members have now appealed to governments of Argentina and Chile for an aerial search operation for the climber.

Babu’s sister said that she had sent him a message on March 21 wishing him luck after which she lost contact with him. 

“His last known location is Cerro Tress Cruces on the Argentinian side. It seems that as the weather was bad, he advised his fellow mountaineers to stay put at the base camp and went alone on March 23 to check out the route up.”

According to reports, External Affairs Ministry has established contact with the governments of Chile and Argentina and rescue teams have been sent.

“We have been told that the route that Mastan took was hit by heavy rains after he left,” said Sushma Swaraj. 

He was scheduled to return to India on March 28. Babu is an alumnus of IIT-Kharagpur and IIM-Kolkata.