Runners abandon charity Amazon jungle trek after baggage mishap

Two runners say they have been left thousands of pounds out of pocket after they had to pull out of a race in the Amazon jungle due to missing luggage.

David Benison and Carl Bamford, both from near Chesterfield, set off from Manchester Airport for Lima on 29 May.

They were due to raise money for Ashgate Hospice by taking part in the 230km (143-mile) Jungle Ultra, but crucial equipment failed to arrive.

Dutch airline KLM has been approached for comment.

Mr Bamford, who returned to the UK on Tuesday, said he and his friend had arrived in Peru a week before the race was due to start in order to acclimatise to the high altitude.

Both engineers and keen runners, they had spent months preparing for the gruelling five-day race, only to be thwarted when their kit - not easily replaced in the jungle - did not turn up.

"We signed up in 2019, but obviously Covid happened, so I thought this was meant to be third time lucky," he said.

"As soon as we didn't get our bags we went to the counter in the airport, and they gave us reference numbers and took details, and said 'don't worry about it, it'll be here tomorrow'.

"Every day we were phoning, and my wife was phoning from back here - we were having to wait 45 minutes for every call, but we were just getting conflicting information.

"Some people were saying it was in Amsterdam, but nobody could say for sure."

When eventually the bag turned up, it was taken home to Derbyshire instead of South America.

While other runners had offered to share some equipment, Mr Bamford said they could not replace all of the kit needed to stay safe in the jungle, such as specialist sleeping bags and food.

"Bags go missing, we both know that, it happens, and it was a busy period [when they flew out], but to not know where it was for so long, we got a feeling there wasn't an appetite to find it," he said.

KLM has offered to refund them for hotel and food costs incurred when unable to take part in the race, and apologised for the inconvenience.

In an email the airline said: "While our handling systems are very advanced, we cannot give an absolute guarantee that the carriage of all our passengers' luggage will be as seamless as we would want."

Mr Bamford said he and his friend had lost about £7,000 between them when race registration fees and other costs are accounted for.

Despite the disaster, they have managed to raise more than £3,500 for the hospice, and hope to compete in the race next year.

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