The team for extreme adventurer Ash Dykes reportedly lost contact with the 35-year-old for over 16 hours during his recent exploration of the Congo Basin.
Dykes, a native of Old Colwyn, Wales, has documented his journey on social media, but in the early morning on Wednesday (Oct. 21), Matt, a member of his support team, gave an update on Instagram. The world traveler is currently on a 434-mile journey from Central Republic of Africa town Nola to Mossaka in the Republic of Congo.
“ATTENTION. It’s been more than 16 hours since we last heard from Ash and the team which is concerning,” the message read. “We will endeavour to keep you posted and let you all know as soon as we hear more. Thank you.”
Five hours later, the team announced that they had finally heard from Dykes through his satellite device after his Starlink and powerbank had died.
“There’s no way for them to send videos or updates, they can only send short messages whenever they get signal on the Garmin,” the Instagram message read.
The expedition is one of six on Dykes’ Project Six mission, and he’s chronicled travel setbacks in vlogs, such as having close encounters with large insects in the wild and the strenuous task of kayaking for miles.
“There’s definitely the fear that anything can happen,” Dykes told People. “It is an adventure, and as experienced as I am, I can anticipate what might happen and try to understand, based on experience, how I usually react to those situations. I feel that I’ve got what it takes to bring us all back safe and alive.”
In a message shared on his TikTok account on Thursday (Oct. 22), his team confirmed that they’ve since had “further contact” with Ash Dykes and confirmed that “everyone is safe.”
“Yesterday, the team stopped paddling at 2pm to find a way to charge their equipment,” reads the statement, which can be seen below. “They found a generator in a local community, but unfortunately it broke down, leaving them with just 10% charge on one powerbank—not enough to power the Starlink. THE MISSION CONTINUES!”
The statement concluded by sharing that Dykes and his team will be continuing down the Sangha River on Thursday and will continue to search for another power source in an effort to restore communications.
“Until then, updates and footage will remain limited,” the statement reads. “Thank you for your patience and support! We’ll share more as soon as we hear from them.
