Rescuers found a missing Russian tourist alive on Friday, a month after he disappeared with five companions on a canoeing trip in northwest China.

 

The man, identified as Alexander Zverev, was walking along the upper reaches of a section of the Yurungkax River, in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region when Chinese and Russian rescuers spotted him from the air.

A rescue helicopter picked him up at about 10:00 a.m. and transported him to nearby Hotan city.

 

Zverev, 35, had no belongings with him and his shoes were worn out, said Li Yongjun, a Chinese helicopter pilot in charge of the rescue operation.

 

"He kept walking back and forth on the aircraft and trying to talk. He appeared exhausted, but very excited," said Li.

 

Arriving at Hotan airport at 11:40 a.m., Zverev stepped down from the helicopter and hugged Russian rescuers.

 

The first survivor of the party found since the search was launched early this month, is under close observation in Hotan People's Hospital.

 

"It is a miracle that Zverev managed to survive in an uninhabited mountainous area at an elevation of 4,000 meters," said Zhang Shaoyun, deputy chief of the local rescue headquarters.

 

A group of six Russians arrived at the upper reaches of the Yurungkax River on Kunlun Mountain of western Xinjiang on Aug. 19 and planned to begin a rafting trip two days later. However, they failed to meet their Chinese interpreter in the southern city of Hotan on Sep. 2 as scheduled.

 

The bodies of three Russians, including a father and son, have been recovered. Medical experts said they had fallen into the river and drowned.

 

Rescuers are still searching for the two missing, identified as Andrey Pautov and Dmitry Tishchenko, particulaly around the area where Zverev was found according to clues he provided.

 

The search was suspended earlier this week due to persistent sandstorms.

 

Rescuers are now relying more on helicopters than ground searches.

 

Xinhua reporters are seeking approval from local authorities and the hospital to interview Zverev.

(Xinhua News Agency September 21, 2007)