Y
( SMU
Publication: The New Paper, pp Cover & 2-3
Date: 12 February 2007
Headline: Go down mountain myself? No problem, I thought
SPORE PROF ON HOW HE GOT LOST
ON JOHOR MOUNTAIN FOR 12 HOURS
Source: The New Paper O Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
Publication: The New Paper, pp Cover & 2-3
Date: 12 February 2007
Headline: Go down mountain myself? No problem, I thought
Go down
mountain
myself.3
"J problem,
I thought
I.I
By Crystal Chan
[email protected]
H
When the rescuers came to me, I was so happy
that I said "thankyou" to all of them. I never
expected 28 people to searchfor one person. I'm
really grateful to the Malaysian authoritiesfor
their efforts. I hope thisisgood fir bilateral
relations.
-Dr P a m , showzng the scratches hegot dunnghls ordeal faboue)
E had taken about seven to eight
hours to climbed to the summit
of a Johor mountain.
He thought he could do the descent
in about half the time.
Instead, Dr Francis Pavri, got lost on
the 1,010m-tallGunung Belumut in
Kluang, Johor, for 12 hours on Saturday.
What followed was a dramatic chain
of events,leaving his wife and
colleagues panicking and fearing the
worst.
Dr Pavri, 61, survived on a 500ml
bottle of mineral water duringthe 12
hours he was lost and was finally
rescued yesterday afternoon by the
Malaysian police.
The adjunct business professor of
Singapore ManagementUniversity had
gone hiking with six other colleagues.
But he wanted to be the first to reach
home for a Chinese New Year gathering
with his friends.
In the end, he became the last to
reach home.
Dr Pavri and his team left Singapore
on Friday evening, arriving in Kluang at
8pm the same day. The group had set
out from Prime City Hotel in Kluang at
6am on Saturday,beginning their trek
froman oil palm estate near the
mountain.
When The New Paper interviewed
him at his semi-detached house at West
Coast Rise last night, Dr Pavri, of
Chinese and Brazilian parentage, said
he was relaxed throughout the ordeal.
He said: "I've trekked for the last
15 years but it was my fist time to
Gunung Belumut. Usually, my wife
accompanies me. But she was busy on
Saturdayso she didn't go along."
Dr Pavri did not think of asking one of
his colleagues, Dr Raj Kumaran, 54, to
accompanyhim whenhe met,fhe latter
on his way down.
Dr Raj, who hastft*gW Pavri for
13 years, said: "I was the slowest in the
group and was experiencing cramps.
When I saw Francis. I asked to
accompanyhim. But he was determined
to press on and1 might slow him down."
Dr Pavri said: "Since my colleagues
and I had no problems reaching the
summit, I thought there would be no
difficultiesif I wanted to come down
myself.
The hike to the summit takes about
seven to eight hours. But the descent
can be done in four hours, he said.
Dr Pavri added: "But at 5pm, the path
just disappeared. I called my wife on my
handphone so that she could get help.
By 6.30pm, the skywent dark."
200M FROM BASE
Then, Dr Pavri was about 200m from
the base of the mountain, but the thick
undergrowthhampered his view.
His initial reaction was to panic when
he realised he was lost but composed
himself as he knewthere was little he
could do.
Wearing a T-shirt and apair of shorts,
all Dr Pavri did was to wait near a river
for rescue workers to arrive.
In the meantime, Dr Pavri sipped
water from the bottle as he did not know
if the river water was safe to drink.
"When your mind is in a whirl, you
don't realise you're hungry. And I slept
only fitfully, on the big stone slabs in the
river."
While Dr Pavri spent the night on
Gunung Bdumut, his wife, Madam Shu
Moo Yoong, 56, and some of his
colleagueswho went on the hike were
franticalIylw!4ngforways to rescue him.
The group -which also comprised
Dr Kenneth Huang, 28, Dr Pang Eng
Fong, the dean of Lee Kong Chian
School of Business at SMU, Mr Mats
Lingblad,Mr Terence Fan and Ms
Carolyn Seah,the director of SMU's Lien
Foundation Centre for Social
Innovation-had embarked on the trek
Source: The New Paper O Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
Publication: The New Paper, pp Cover & 2-3
Date: 12 February 2007
Headline: Go down mountain myself? No problem, I thought
) Hiking dos
I
and don'ts
I W N ' ~go offon your own;
It's easy to get lostwhen you're alone.
So sags SingaporeMountaineerin
Federation president Yip SeekHong.
M ~ Y ~&o
D , has been head in^! the
federatiin since its inception ini993, said
"The trail on GumutgBelumut is quite
dear. But it's aiso not advisableto go off o
i
k
your own.
"It's easia toget lost when you're alon~
normalfor rescuers to take 12hours to
'find you because of bad light in the
' It's
)
m."
;*Yip gave other tips on the dos and
'ts & i n hiking. -
position and wait for your team members
t m e .
"It's also good to have your handphonc
withxou
so vou can call for helm Ensure
*
thatpw pIkne has reception:especially
ins@& r o w terrain."
Mr Yipsuggested that bikers who lose
the&* c&ieave some traces of their
whereabouts,such as throwing some stid
or h c h e s along the trail.
It is also important not to panic so you
will end up getting more confused.
"Of course, it's easier said than done.
BiaYYyou
are anxious,you may end up
more lost as you try to find your way back
ny"tow0rk thingsout logically.''
Mr Yiiadded that it is quite,easyto
4$ep a n &?mountainin i m p i d areas lik
-3
I've trekkedfor the last 15 years,
but it was myfirst time to
GunungBerlumut. Usually, my
umfe accompanies me. But she
was busy on Saturday so she
didn't wme along.
-DrPavri
without a guide.
'We were so excited and we set off,
thinking we knew the route well. We
were probably too optimistic and didn't
thinkanythingwould happen,"
explainedDr Raj.
As it was a fairly easy trek, the
climbers, who were all dressed in
T-shirts, shorts and sneakers, had taken
only water and tidbits.
Luckily,Dr Huang's father had a good
friend in Malaysia, businessman
William Lau, whose contacts helped the
group get in touch with the local
authorities.
Dr Huang said: 'William is my dad's
best friend. Not only is he a local but his
extensivelocal contacts also made him a
natural choice when we thought of
whom to seek help •’ram."
In all, 28 police officerswere sent to
look for Dr Pavri.
M-
d r a i B o o e t s for places with
I
e
He was found near the rlver, where he
remained throughout the ordeal.
Dr Pavri said: "When the rescuers
came to me, I was so happy that I said
'thank you' to all of them. I never
expected 28 people to search for one
person.
"I'm really grateful to the Malaysian
authoritiesfor their efforts. I hope this is
good for bilateral relations.''
It also helped that Dr Pavri had his
handphone with him so he could
pinpoint his location to the police.
He said: "The 12 hours went by pretty
fast. I was relieved when the police
found me.
"I had wanted to get back in time for
my appointment, but I ended up
missing the gathering. That's ironic.
"The police tried to get me last night.
But when it got dark, I told them over
the phone to go home andrest There's
"ButybllJItneedto cany more warm
-I l . n . g w e b t h e Hirpalayas."
nothing you can do at night."
Dr Pavri claimed he was not afraid of
being attacked by wild animals.
He said: "It was quiet up there. All I
suffered were some cuts on my hands
and blisters on my legs. I'm still limping,
so I may take medical leave today."
Madam Shu, who drove to Johor at
7am yesterday, said: "Francis was so
dirty when he came out of the forest. He
showered at William's place before
coming back"
So what are his thoughts on the
experience?
' W ~ e v ago alonewhenyon hike.
Nobodywill lmowif yon get lost"
His is not the only reported case of
trekkers getting lost on Belumut.
In September 1997,36climbers,
including 25 students, were rescued
&ihe@vu~srraaded~<ha-way up the same mountain.
Source: The New Paper O Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction.