Two Danish women have disappeared during a hike near the Madeiran capital Funchal, according to the Foreign Ministry.

“Two Danish tourists have been missing in Madeira since they left their hotel on January 1 – presumably to go on a hike,” the Foreign Ministry Duty Officer Peter Niebuhr tells Ritzau.

The 73 and 77 year-old women, who are both from Aarhus, are experienced hikers and arrived in Madeira on Dec. 29. The two left their hotel on Jan. 1, telling tour colleagues of the Danish Hiking Association that they planned to hike to a fishing village five kilometres from Funchal.

They have not been seen since and have not reacted to radio and television missing person appeals. Madeira police and volunteers have begun a widespread search for the two.

“This is terrible and we have put all our energy into finding traces of the two women,” Director Ulla Stæt Andersen of Århus Charter tells Århus Stiftstidende.

Relatives of the two women have been informed of the situation.

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