Family pleas for help in Baber Suleman's rescue efforts

Family and friends make impassioned plea to those involved in search operation;urge authorities to act faster

PLAINFIELD: As US authorities continue their search for pilot Baber Suleman, who was attempting to circumnavigate the world in 30 days with his now deceased 17-year-old Haris Suleman, family and friends have made impassioned pleas to those involved in the hunt for bringing in more resources quickly.

The father-son duo was flying a single engine aircraft which crashed near Pago Pago Island on July 23 for reasons not known as yet. At the time of the crash Haris, whose body was recovered a few hours after the crash, had been attempting to become the youngest pilot ever to complete the journey. However, authorities were still searching for his father.

On Friday, Baber's daughter Hiba Suleman and a family friend Azher Khan held a press conference outside their house in the US, requesting help from anyone who can assist with search efforts.

“We want to find Baber; he is a fighter and I know he is somewhere out there, waiting for someone to come to his rescue,” said Khan.

“We just want all the resources to be mobilised; time is essence,” he emphasised, adding that the sooner they bring more resources, the better chances are for finding Baber.

“Miracles happen; people have survived in worst situation for days and we have not given up on hope and prayers,” he added.

Hiba, while speaking to the media, called on to people with relevant resources to assist the search teams with rescue work. The family has also created a Facebook group and hashtag #BringBabarHome in order to raise awareness about the issue.

One of the last messages posted by Hiba on the Facebook group read: "I've just been informed that the Coast Guard generally stops their search for survivors after 72 hours- which would be tomorrow. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE urge the Hawaiian Coast Guard to keep the search active for another few days."

Haris and his father flew from Indianapolis, Indiana, where they lived, to Greenland, Cairo, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and finally to the islands of America Samoa.