Nitin B| The News Minute | March 30, 2015 | 1:00 pm IST
It has been five days since Malli Mastan Babu, an ace mountaineer from India, went missing during a solo expedition in the Andes mountain range in South America.
“We are praying and hoping that things will turn out okay. We have appealed to the Indian government and they told us that rescue teams have been sent and they will also provide any help that we might need," says Malli Dorasanamma, his sister.
Malli, who is Mastan's elder sister along with Mastan's mother have been waiting impatiently everyday for news from the Indian embassies and Mastan's friends, praying and hoping that he is okay.
The 40-year-old was attempting to climb the Andes mountain range along the Argentina-Chile border and had started his expedition from the base camp on March 24th but did not make his scheduled return on March 25th.
"An aerial search is going on because the area is very hard to access by foot. Our last contact with him was when we sent him a message on March 21 wishing him good luck and he replied," says Malli.
There is also speculation that since the weather at the time was bad, Mastan might have climbed down the Chile side.
"We have been in touch with the ministry of external affairs and the embassies of Chile and Argentina. They are keeping us updated on the search and rescue operation," Malli adds.
Mastan hails from Nellore in Andhra Pradesh and has close to 10 to 12 years of experience of climbing mountain peaks. He is an alumni of IIT-Kharagpur and IIM-Kolkata and was scheduled to return to India on March 28 after conquering all the Andes peaks.
Mastan is also considered one of the fastest mountaineers in the world after he scaled the highest peaks of the seven continents in 172 days (Jan 19 – July 10, 2006) - the fastest so far.
"He was always a very adventurous boy. He has so much passion for travelling, photography and meeting new people and is always on the move. He hardly stays at home," Malli says.
(Masthan with his sister Malli)
He also holds the world record for the only person in the world to do 7 summits on seven days of the week and one in each calendar month besides being the only South Asian to accomplish 7 Summits.
There is a funding campaign going on for a private search and rescue team besides the existing ones by Mastan's friends. They can be contacted on their Facebook page here.
"All that we can do now is wait and hope that my little brother will come back safe and sound" Malli adds.
“Challenge is what enthralls me and free spirit is what I exhibit. “Never Give Up, Never Give In!” is a phrase that works miracles for me. “Courage and Conviction” has been a way of expression of my self.” - Malli Mastan Babu
(All Images: Mastan Babu's Facebook page)