There has been no news about the six Russian tourists who were reported missing after they embarked on a canoeing trip in the southwestern part of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region late last month, but the two local guides emerged.

Sources from the Hotan Prefectural Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) said the two local guides, Itaman and Ahman, both from Pulu Village, Yutian County, who served as guides for leading the six Russians to the nearest location for canoeing on the upper reaches of the Yurungkax River turned themselves up and recounted their journey to accompany the six Russian men.

The two local guides said the six Russians hired eight donkeys from their village at 10,000 yuan (about US$1,250) for carrying luggage, and set out in the morning of August 14, but reached the river bank at 6 PM on August 19.

The two guides returned to their village on August 22.

In separate news item filed on Friday, there was an obvious wrong interpretation that the two local guides also accompanied the six Russians in canoeing.

Zhang Hong, the local Russian-language interpreter who is based in Urumqi, said he had not any contact with the six Russians.

"The six Russians were introduced to me by a Russian friend of mine and arrived in Hotan in mid-August with the aim of canoeing along the upper reaches of the Yurunkax River," said Zhang.

According to Zhang's account, the six Russians flew to Urumqi, regional capital of Xinjiang, on August 11. Led by Zhang, the six tourists then flew to Hotan and later arrived by bus in Pulu Village, Yutian County, where the Yurungkax River originates.

In addition to hiring two villagers as their guides, the six Russians also rented eight donkeys to help carry daily necessities weighing about 400 kg, including food, medicine, a GPS system and tents.

Zhang returned to Urumqi for business on August 14.

According to the original plan, the expedition team would arrive at the banks of the Yurungkax River that flows through Hotan on August 20, start canoeing the next day towards Cele and finish at Kashitashi Township in Hotan county, 30 km from Hotan City, in order to meet Zhang.

However, the six Russians failed to show up on September 2 as agreed. Zhang then informed his Russian friend of the situation two days later, who passed on the news to the relatives of the tourists.

Zhang reported to the local tourism department in Hotan after relatives of one of the Russians phoned Zhang twice to request an immediate search operation.

The six Russians were identified as Vladimir Smetannikov, Sergey Chernik, Andrey Pautov, Dmitry Tishchenko, Ivan Chernik and Alexander Zverev, with the youngest aged 25 and the oldest 47.

A joint team made up of members of the local police, tourism authorities and water resources department are searching for the missing. Local herders along both banks of the Yurungkax River were also told to lend a helping hand in the searching operation.

An official in charge of the search operation said the rescuers' task would be made all the more difficult by the fact the group had traveled high in the remote Kunlun mountain range at heights of between 5,000 and 6,000 meters above sea level, but they were optimistic the group was just temporarily out of contact.

(Xinhua News Agency September 8, 2007)