Rescued Taiwanese hiker marks sombre birthday in Nepal

Taiwanese trekker Liang Sheng-yueh (C), who was rescued alive after being stranded in the Himalayas for 47 days, marks his 21st birthday in a hospital in Kathmandu.-AFP

Kathmandu (AFP) - A Taiwanese trekker who was rescued on a Nepal mountainside seven weeks after going missing marked his 21st birthday in a Kathmandu hospital Friday, recovering from an ordeal that left his girlfriend dead.

Liang Sheng-yueh survived in the wilderness despite losing 30 kilos (66 pounds) but his girlfriend Liu Chen-chun, 18, died just three days before a team rescued the couple in northwest Nepal.