“JC [Nel], Petro’s husband and her two sons, John-Jay and Jean, will be flying to Nepal soon,” said DA North West leader Joe McGluwa.

Petro Nel was on a holiday in Nepal when she went missing on Thursday, while on a sight-seeing flight over a mountainous area, all contact was lost with the light aircraft she boarded.

She served as a DA ward councillor in the Matlosana municipality in Klerksdorp and earlier this year received the special Paul Harris Rotary Award for her dedication towards community work and upliftment.

On Monday, the party said the family and friends had so far raised US$5,000 (R66 000) to ensure that the search for Nel continues.

“The money is needed for the rescue and search team to continue the search. The team could only search for a certain period of time, and if you want the search to continue you pay,” explained party spokesperson Nicolize van der Walt.

ANA