Friends last saw missing man Hadi Nazari, 24, descending the Hannels Spur Trail on Thursday

The search for a 24-year-old hiker missing in Kosciuszko national park since Boxing Day has entered its sixth day, with the man’s sister expressing fears about potential threats to his safety.

Hadi Nazari, an experienced hiker whose birthday was on Tuesday, has not been seen since, when friends had descending the Hannels Spur Trail at Geehi, between Khancoban and Thredbo, on Thursday.

When he didn’t arrive at the Geehi campground as expected, his two friends – aged 23 and 24 – began searching for him.

Police also commenced searching that night, before a multi-agency search was launched. This involved Goulburn police rescue and officers from the Riverina police district, assisted by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the SES, NSW Ambulance, VRA and POLAir.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email

Police said further assets have been deployed, including a helicopter with infra-red capabilities to try to locate Nazari, but have so far been unsuccessful.

Zahra Nazari, the missing man’s sister, told the Nine network’s Today Show that “not seeing him for so many days [and] not able to talk to him for so many days” was the “biggest trauma” of her life.

“It’s a remote area,” she said. “There might be other insects, or [there] could be animals as well, which is a threat to him.

“[I] just want to go outside and scream, you know. I just look at his pictures all the time. I pray to God he comes back, he comes back soon.”

Nazari is described as being Asian in appearance with a slim build and is about 172cm tall. He was last seen wearing a grey, long-sleeved shirt, grey pants and carrying a blue backpack.

“While there are concerns for the man’s welfare, police have been told the man is an experienced hiker and is carrying camping equipment and wearing clothing suitable to the conditions,” NSW police said.

It comes after a hiker suffered a snake bite, dehydration and a rolled ankle while lost in the Snowy Mountains in October.

Lovisa Sjoberg, 48, was found after a six-day search. A local police commander said Sjoberg was “pretty fortunate to be alive”.

Anyone with information regarding Nazari was urged to contact Crime Stoppers.

Source: www.theguardian.com