British soldiers lost on mountain

An RAF mountain rescue team was expected to begin searching today for two British Army officers who failed to return after climbing a 13,000ft peak in East Malaysia.

The officers - who were leading an army expedition to scale Mount Kinabalu in Sabah - were in a group that included five NCOs and three soldiers from Hong Kong. The party divided into two groups for the descent, but only the NCOs got back to base. An RAF spokesman said: 'This is the first time that rescue experts have helped an international peacetime search for missing people. Our personnel are trained in jungle search techniques as well as for the Scottish mountains . . . Concern is high and it was felt to be a matter of urgency to dispatch our men to the area to help.'