The 57-year-old British explorer Benedict Allen, who went missing while trying to reach a remote tribe in Papua New Guinea has been rescued with suspected malaria. Allen was trying to reach the Yaifo, thought to be the last tribe on Earth having no contact with the outside world.
On Friday, he was rescued by a helicopter from a remote airstrip in Papua New Guinea. Benedict's friend Frank Gardener previously stated that the explorer is not out of danger but is stuck somewhere that is only reachable by air after all the road bridges were cut due to tribal fighting.
However, he is now safe in Port Moresby. Simon Tonge, UK high commissioner in Papua New Guinea told the BBC that he will be flown home in the weekend.
It is typical of the British explorer to go out without the GPS. However, him going missing for the last three weeks has been an issue of concern for his family members, primarily so because he was cut off from the mainland due to tribal unrest.
From Allen's little ones eagerly waiting to go for shopping with their father to the explorer's sister being cross with him, Allen's family members finally breathe a sigh of relief after a period of prolonged anxiety.
Allen's Czech born wife Lenka said that despite technological innovations he never uses them.
"Take a bloomin' phone next time. There is so much technology available, that's what I'd be saying," she said. Their children - 10-year-old Natalya, seven-year-old Freddie and two-year-old Beatrice - keeps asking "when's Daddy coming home?"
Lenka further stated that Beatrice is always looking for her father, trying to call him and keeps on staring at his photo on the mobile screen. The children somehow can sense the anxiety and are worried deep down within.
"They all sense the tension in the flat and they are worried deep down. The two other ones, they are saying, 'When is Daddy coming so we can go shopping, just me and you, and Daddy can babysit', that sort of thing," Lenka added.
Explorer @benedictallen is now recovering from fever, poss malaria in Papua New Guinea capital having got disoriented on remote jungle trek.
— Frank Gardner (@FrankRGardner) November 17, 2017
From a fatal snake bite to Allen getting lost or contracting some disease, every possible situation was going through Lenka's head. However, she believes Allen "does know a lot about the jungle."
Allen's sister Katie Petille revealed how his family is going through a mental turbulence. "Lenka is being very brave but we are both very cross with him. It is typical of him to go off without GPS," she told the Guardian.
Will Millard, a fellow explorer revealed that Benedict likes complete freedom and puts himself in a situation where despite the global systems of communication one can go somewhere and feel alone. All one can now hope is that the explorer returns back home safely.
