Aiden Webb: British Backpacker's Body Found in Vietnam

Park rangers have found the body of Aiden Webb, a Briton who went missing after injuring himself on a solo trek up Vietnam's highest mountain seven days ago.

Webb, 22, an experienced climber from Norwich, was climbing Fansipan, which is more than 10,000ft (3,000 meters) high, when he fell on Saturday morning. He called his girlfriend, who was in nearby town to tell her he was lost before his phone battery died.

Vietnam's state-run news agency said a rescue team found Webb's body less than a mile from a cable car structure. The team estimated Webb had died three days ago.

The general manager of the Hoang Lien national park said, "it is very sad we found the British tourist body today at 12:50. The position is quite near the location that his girlfriend gave us, in Sin Chai village,"

The village is at the base of Fansipan, about 18 miles from Sapa town where Webb's girlfriend, Bluebell Baughan was staying. The search area covered a vast mountainous area but rescuers focused on the site from where Webb sent his last text to Baughan. More than 200 people, including mountain rescue teams, park rangers and dogs joined the search.

The backpacker's father, Trever and uncle, Michael Webb had flown out to help look for him in the dense jungle and his family launched a public campaign to ask for help from travellers in the region.

"Aiden is lost, injured, cold & wet in the vietnam jungle. Please! Help us find him!" his family wrote on a Facebook page entitled "Help us find Aiden in Vietnam" on Wednesday. They said he had hurt his knee, torn open his arm and lost his flashlight after falling. The Facebook page was closed on Thursday afternoon local time.

The UK foreign office said its staff had been supporting Webb's family and friends. "Vietnamese authorities have this morning confirmed they have found a body in the same area that British national Aiden Webb went missing. A formal identification of the body has not yet been conducted," it said in a statement.

The drama graduate of Anglia Ruskin university had spent the last two months climbing in south-east Asia, including other sites in Vietnam and Thailand. In a Facebook post on May 28, Webb said he was "free-soloing," climbing alone without ropes or protective equipment.

"Never had so much fun and never had my mind so clear and empty. This is something I've felt, I've needed to do in a long time," he said, adding that he chose climbing routes below his skill level to stay safe.




source:
The Guardian