KUALA LUMPUR – Five members of a running club, Hash House Harriers’ (3H) Ipoh chapter, have been missing in Bukit Kledang, Ipoh, since yesterday evening, while marking routes for a hash run.
The five began their hike at about 3pm yesterday but failed to return to the foot of the hill by 7pm, the agreed rendezvous time after setting the route, Silver City 3H assistant secretary, Ramesh Periasamy, told Scoop.
Those missing are Silver City 3H’s grandmaster (GM), A. Gunasundram, 68, as well as members L. Asokomar (67), N. Visva (47), V.R. Sauthiri Kannan (45), and V. Kishu Kumar (33).
Ramesh said that existing trails in the Bukit Kledang area were not new for the five members, but this time they were marking a “virgin” route.
“Normally, they are all very experienced people. My GM was there, and he has 30 to 40 years of experience in hashing.
“They’re hash members, they are not ordinary hikers. They would hike every week, or every month,” he said when contacted by Scoop.
Meanwhile, a message circulated this morning by the Ipoh 3H chapter appealed to club members to either avoid hiking in the area so as not to disrupt an ongoing search for the missing members, or to help by taking part in the search.
It is learnt that a police report was lodged on the missing five at 11.43pm last night, and a search-and-rescue (SAR) operation was launched about an hour later.
The search team, which included Fire and Rescue Department officials, as well as Silver City 3H members, failed to locate anyone as of 7.20am today.
The search continued today but as of press time, the five individuals have not been found. – December 17, 2023