An Internet celebrity from Taipei known for taking photographs of herself in a bikini after hiking up mountain peaks nationwide died on Monday from suspected hypothermia after a fall in central Taiwan, the Nantou County Fire Department said.
The body of the woman, identified as Gigi Wu (吳季芸), was found in a gorge in Penjushan (盆駒山) at about noon, but rescuers detected no signs of life by the time they reached her, Third Squadron head Lin Cheng-yi (林正宜) said.
Wu on Saturday called for assistance on her satellite phone, indicating that she was in distress and unable to move after falling into a 30m gorge at Penjushan.
Photo: Hsieh Chieh-yu, Taipei Times
However, weather conditions prevented the rescue team deployed to find Wu from using a helicopter, so they set out on foot.
Wu was found dead 43 hours after she made the distress call.
Rescuers were to transport her body to an open area for an airlift, the department said.
The Chinese-language Apple Daily reported that Wu entered Dongpu (東埔) in Nantou County on Jan. 11 and planned to hike the Batongguan Historic Trail (八通關古道) in Yushan National Park until tomorrow.
She apparently did not have a permit to hike the Yushan mountain range, the department said.
Wu, 36, gained fame online for hiking mountains nationwide and posting pictures on Facebook of herself in a bikini after completing a hike.
She had accumulated more than 14,000 followers.
In a televised interview in July last year, Wu said that the bikini shots came about a few years ago when she lost a bet to a friend and the punishment was to take pictures in a bikini after hiking up a mountain.
Wu said that she had completed 100 hikes and worn at least 97 bikinis over the past four years.
As news of her death spread, hundreds of followers began posting condolence messages on Wu’s Facebook page on Monday.
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
Reports of Taiwanese going missing, being detained or interrogated, or having their personal liberties restricted in China increased about fourfold annually last year, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Last year, 221 Taiwanese who traveled to China were reported missing, were detained and interrogated, or otherwise had their personal freedom restricted, up from 55 the previous year, the council said. Reopening group tours to China would be risky, as it would leave travelers with no way to seek help through official channels after Beijing shut down dialogue between the associations tasked with handling cross-strait tourism, the MAC said. Taipei’s Taiwan Strait Tourism
RSS