Benedict Allen seen 'alive and well'

Missing explorer and writer Benedict Allen has been seen "alive and well", according to a BBC report.

The news station has said Allen was seen near an airstrip in Papua New Guinea. BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner, who is friends with Allen, said he had asked to be rescued and efforts were under way to find him.

A search for Allen, who has written numerous books on his adventures as well as editing The Faber Book of Exploration, was initiated after he was late returning from an expedition. He was attempting to track down the Yaifo tribe, one of the few tribes not to have contact with the outside world.

Allen had been expected back in the capital Port Moresby on Sunday (12th November), from where he was to travel to Hong Kong to deliver a talk.

Allen’s agent Jo Sarsby of Jo Sarsby Management previously told the Daily Mail: "His wife Lenka has not heard from him. She is very worried. He would never miss something like the Hong Kong talk unless something had happened.”

She added: "He is a highly experienced explorer, very clever and resourceful and adept at surviving in the most hostile places on earth, and he would never give up. He may not be a young man any more but he is very fit."