There was snowfall in the hills surrounding the Kathmandu Valley last Thursday. Students of Ajay Shikshya Sadan in Thasikhel, Lalitpur requested the school management to go for hiking in Phulchowki to play with snow.
The school agreed and took students of grade six to Phulchowki in the morning. John Tamang, 17, was missing when the students gathered after playing with snow throughout the day to return from Phulchowki. He could not be found despite searching till late in the evening. The school informed Lalitpur Police about the incident.
His search started but he was nowhere to be found amidst the dense jungle.
The police suddenly received a phone call Wednesday, "A boy has been seen in a stream in the jungle. We have not been able to rescue him."
Chandra Ale and Anil Bhattarai, who say they went there in search of missing Tamang, had called the police.
SSP at Lalitpur Police Ganesh Aire sent a team led by DSP of Satdobato Circle Binod Silwal and including medics.
The police team reached the spot after walking for one and a half hour from the place for parking at Phulchowki. Tamang was found in semi-conscious state at around 7:30 in the evening.
He was down with hunger and cold, his body was swollen. The medical team that accompanied the police started primary treatment at the spot. He was then taken to B&B Hospital at Gwarko.
He is stable now, according to Dr Dipendra Karki at B&B Hospital. His heartbeat and oxygen saturation both are normal.
The police team said Tamang, who was missing for six days, was found at the most treacherous spot of Phulchowki jungle.
Tamang is from Dharan. The younger one of twins, he was living with his guardians at Thasikhel.
His mother Rina told Setopati that she first heard that her son was found at around 4:30 Wednesday afternoon. "My relatives were deployed in search since the morning. There is a place called danger zone. He had fallen in a pit there," she said. "He has been found due to the help of friends and relatives, and the grace of god. He is well until now. He can speak."
A few get lost in Phulchowki jungle every year after forgetting the route.
