May 11: Simrik Air Helicopters are carrying out immediate search and rescue mission starting from May 11 for Bulgarian national Boyan Petrov Petrov, who has been declared missing on the territory of Tibetan Autonomous Region of China. Petrov is a veteran climber who has summited 10 peaks of more than 8000 meters.

Owing to the fact that the operation can only be implemented by a Nepalese helicopter capable of flying to higher altitude, Simrik Air said in a statement that it deployed its helicopters immediately upon a special request from the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria.

Simrik Air's two helicopters AS350 B3e with call signs 9N–ALP and 9N–AJZ with six crew members along with necessary equipment, flew from Kathmandu towards Shishapangma Base Camp on Friday, May 11, with the permission of the Chinese government, after completing all the necessary formalities of the  Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).

Simrik Air crew member for Shishapangma Mission includes Captain Siddartha J Gurung (pilot), Capt Surendra Paudel (pilot), Capt Ananda Thapa (pilot), Chhiring Dhenduk Bhote (rescue specialist), Mingma Sherpa (rescue specialist) and Uttam Chaudhary (technician).

Petrov is a veteran climber who has been missing in the Himalayas for several days. According to the information received, his absence was noticed by the participants in the expedition in the region of Shishapangma peak at less than 7500 m above sea level. The peak is 8017 m and is near to the border of Nepal and China (Tibet).