Nepal Esperanto Association (NEA) has said four Polish trekkers remain “missing” for the last five days from Jiri area of Dolakha district – east of capital, Kathmandu.

Talking to Nepalnews, general secretary of NEA, Bharat Kumar Ghimire, said they last heard from two of the Esperanto speaking Polish trekkers from Jiri area on March 23 saying that they were “abducted” by the Maoist rebels. “We haven’t heard from them after that,” he said. Ghimire said he was not aware if the rebels had made any demands from the trekkers.

The trekkers — Marzena Staniszewska, Wojcich Mysiara, Konrad Kakolewjki and Maria Los from Poland– – were on their way to Lukla, a popular tourist destination in the Everest region. Lukla is nearly five days trek away from Jiri.

There has been no word from the Maoist rebels as yet regarding the incident.

There have been reports of the rebels levying “revolutionary tax” upon the trekkers but they have never harmed the tourists in the past. A leading tourism entrepreneur expressed concerns saying that if proved true, the “abduction” of Polish trekkers could have devastating impact upon Nepal’s already fragile tourism industry.

When contacted by Nepalnews this morning, chief executive officer of the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) Tek Bahadur Dangi said he did not have any authentic information as yet regarding the reported “abduction” of the Polish trekkers. “We are still gathering information and will swing into action as soon as we have details,” he added.

According to NEA, some two million people speak Esperanto around the world. Late ‘Mahakavi’ Laxmi Prasad Devkota was said to be a fluent Esperanto speaker. But the language—that aimed to be an alternative to English—could not popularize itself in the wake of strong waves of “globalised English,” according to experts.