Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang
Five people in a jungle survival course at Kelimutu National Park are missing while two others from the same group have been found.
The five began hiking at the park in Ende, East Nusa Tenggara on Friday and hadn't returned as of Tuesday evening.
Some fifty people including local police, forestry police, the regency's health office and local residents had been working in teams to locate the five, but their work was frustrated, they said, because the course participants didn't have phones or radios.
However, they said they had located the trail of the five -- indicated by footprints and Turuwara (Vacinum) plants.
Head of Kelimutu National Park Agency Lukita Awang said there were signs the five were "still in the area" but there had been no communication with them since contact was broken on Saturday morning.
He added the missing people were part of a group of 20 from East Nusa Tenggara in the survival program.
Course instructors had divided the group into three subgroups which were "assigned to explore" Kelimutu National Park before regrouping at Kelimutu peak.
Two members of the ill-fated group of seven -- Albertus Tamonob and Gusti Pranawere -- were evacuated and received medical treatment on Friday evening. A local journalist taking part in the search -- who refused to be identified -- said they were found in a ravine some 30 meters deep.
Kelimutu National Park is 51 kilometers from Ende. Park attractions include 1,640 meter Mt. Kelimutu and a colored lake.
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