British Explorer Benedict Allen Found Alive and Well in Papua New Guinea

A British explorer who went missing in Papua New Guinea has been found alive and well and has asked for a rescue party to be sent for him, reports The Guardian.

Benedict Allen, who has previously done work for BBC, was attempting to find the Yaifo tribe, one of the few tribes left in the world that has little to no contact with outsiders. Allen met the tribe for the first time 30 years ago.

Frank Gardner, the BBC’s security correspondent, met with Allen just before he left. He worked hard to publicize the 57-year-old’s disappearance after he missed a planned flight home. Speaking on BBC Breakfast on Thursday, Gardner said that his friend had been sighted alive and well near a remote airstrip in Papua New Guinea. He had trekked “vast distances.” Gardner said that Allen requested rescue and efforts are underway to get him out.

“This is only a reported sighting, but it is the second sighting and it’s a tribal commission that has been looking for him and they have reported him in. So unless they have got it horribly wrong, and I’m not aware of any other lost British explorers in that part of Papua New Guinea, Benedict Allen is safe and well,” Gardner said, according to The Guardian.

UK explorer @benedictallen has been sighted, ‘alive and well’ nr airstrip in Papua New Guinea after being reported missing while trekking. pic.twitter.com/8neKeC9IGS

— Frank Gardner (@FrankRGardner) November 16, 2017

A spokesperson for Jo Sarsby Management, Allen’s agent, told The Guardian that Allen is believed to be waiting at an airstrip in the country’s Hewa region, and that the area is not accessible by road. It is hoped a helicopter would be sent Friday. Gardner later reported that Allen was still “at risk” because he is “marooned” on an airstrip that has been cut off by road after tribal fighting, reports The Guardian.

UK explorer @benedictallen is not out of danger yet. He’s marooned at an airstrip after tribal fighting cut off all the road bridges. pic.twitter.com/l5R1Efv5GE

— Frank Gardner (@FrankRGardner) November 16, 2017

The Foreign Office said it was looking into the reports. According to The Guardian, the office released a statement saying, “Our staff are assisting the family of a British man who has been reported missing in Papua New Guinea, and are in contact with the local authorities.”