A climber went missing July 12 while returning from the summit of Fansipan Mountain.

A group of visitors climbing Fansipan Mountain

Ninh Anh Vu, Deputy Director of Hoang Lien National Park in Sapa, said on July 19 revealed the climbers name, Pham Ngoc Anh. He is a second year student at Hanoi College of Fine Arts.

Anh was on a trek organised by Viet A Travel JSC in Sapa. The group was descending from the peak and decided to take a break somewhere above 2,800 metres. This is a dangerous location with several crevices and cliffs hundreds of metres high.  However, Anh continued on his own and presumably got lost.

When the group did not see Anh upon return to the gathering place in Sapa, they immediately reported to police and Hoang Lien National Park.

Sapa District People's Committee ordered the district police and Hoang Lien National Park to send out 30 people in three teams to search for Anh, focusing on the area where he was last seen, but he was still missing as of July 19.

Thousands of climbers take the trek up Fansipan Mountain each year, but few get lost.

Though the weather has turned for the worse with heavy rain and strong wind, the search teams are still determined to look in other places. There is also a proposal to use police dogs.