The search for the three missing mountaineers from the international expedition on Dolma Khang, in Nepal, has not stopped: the operations are now being continued only by the Sherpas, local mountaineers, who are using all their human and technical resources to recover the bodies of the Italians Marco Di Marcello and Markus Kirchler, and the Nepalese Sherpa Padam Tamang, swept away last Sunday by an avalanche during an acclimatization activity above 5,400 meters above sea level.
The day after the communication of the suspension of the research by the group of Italian experts – including Manuel Munari, head of Avia Mea and pilot instructor, and Michele Cucchi, mountain guide and rescuer – due to technical and climatic difficulties, the news comes from the Rolwaling Valley through the words of the Teramo Himalayan Davide Peluzzi, expedition leader in those same areas several times. Peluzzi recalled the missions shared with Marco Di Marcello and Paolo Cocco, the latter among the first victims of the tragedy found and identified.
«I have been in contact since the day of the avalanche with Tenjing Phurba, the leader of this unfortunate expedition – Peluzzi tells ANSA – who reiterated to me that the Nepalese community in the area is shaken and that for them it is an emotional issue that is too important to give up: there are mountaineers under the avalanche who are considered brothers, starting with Marco Di Marcello and continuing with Padam, who on the day of the misfortune was replacing Phurba in assisting the roped party. Their goal is to locate them and possibly recover their bodies. I know them and they know these mountains very well which are their home, as it has become my second home too, they won’t stop digging.”
The news has heartened the family of Marco Di Marcello, the 37-year-old biologist from Teramo, whose satellite detector continues to send georeferenced signals. «Davide told us the news: we were sure – explains his brother Gianni – that Sherpa Phurba would never give up, especially in this difficult situation. We met him by hosting him in our home and we were able to see how close he is to my brother Marco. We are sure that with their strength they will be able to find Marco while he is still alive.”