Malaysian rescuers find body of Dutch hiker in popular cave

But 20-year-old tour guide remains missing after flash floods hit Unesco heritage site

Deer Cave is so named because deer go there to lick the salty rocks. Thousands of tourists visit the attraction every year (Dave Bunnell/Creative Commons)

Malaysian rescuers have found the body of a Dutch hiker a day after he was reported missing during flash floods in a popular national park.

A 20-year-old guide also remains missing after the floods, with officials still searching for him.

District fire and rescue chief Law Poh Kiong said the body of Peter Hans Hoverkamp, 66, was discovered at a river in Deer Cave in northern Sarawak state’s Mulu National Park.

“He died due to drowning following flash floods in the caves. His body was found in a river inside the cave and was taken to the Miri public hospital for a postmortem on Saturday,” Mr Law said, according to AFP.

A search-and-rescue operation involving 16 officers continues their efforts to locate local tour guide Roviezal Robin who was with Hoverkamp.

Officials said a heavy downpour forced rescuers to halt their search operation Saturday afternoon.

Deer Cave is one of the largest cave passages in the world and attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year. It is home to an estimated three million bats, which form amazing patterns in the sky when they leave each dusk.

The cave is one of several limestone caves in Mulu National Park, a Unesco World Heritage site.

Hoverkamp initially was said to be from Germany, but fire department officials clarified later that he was from the Netherlands.

Mr Law described the death as “a freak tragedy.”

Agencies contributed to this report