Wed, Jul 06, 2011 page2

• Protesters urge revamp of mountain rescue services

  NEW MINDSET: A woman whose father went missing in March said she was saddened when she realized the rescue team was comprised of only six people, not 60

  • By Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff Reporter
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  Holding chrysanthemums, dozens of people yesterday filed an appeal with the government regarding an unsuccessful mountain rescue operation that might have contributed to the death of a mountain climber earlier this year.

  “I would like to remind all young people that until the government creates an effective mountain rescue system, they should make sure they don’t go mountain climbing alone,” said Tu Li-fang (杜麗芳), whose son, Chang Po-wei (張博崴), a student at National Chung Shan Medical University, got lost while climbing Baigu Mountain (白姑大山) in Nantou County on Feb. 28.

  “You’d better go in a group of at least three and with a mountain guide,” Tu said.

  

  Relatives of people who died mountain climbing hold chrysanthemums and placards with names and photos of the deceased outside the Control Yuan in Taipei yesterday as they called for a thorough review of the standard operating procedure for mountain rescues.

  Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times

  Chang’s body was eventually found near Beigang River (北港溪) in Yunlin County on April 20, only a day after his family had turned to two mountain climbers for help.

  Prior to his discovery, local police, the fire department and the military had spent 51 days looking for Chang.

  The case demonstrates that the mountain rescue system is plagued with problems, said Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇), who accompanied Chang’s family as it filed an appeal with the Control Yuan.

  “Rescuers turned down suggestions that they should track Chang’s possible whereabouts based on the cellphone signal sent from a call he made to his girlfriend to tell her that he was lost,” Tien said, adding that the rescue services did not use a helicopter at the beginning of the search.

  Huang Kuo-shu (黃國書), the mountain climber who found Chang’s body, said the government agencies had failed to act promptly and effectively because they did not designate a commander to coordinate the rescue crews.

  A relative of Lin Sung-wei (林松蔚), another climber whose body was found last month after Lin had been missing for 12 days on Cingshuei Mountain (清水大山) in Hualien County, said that while he was grateful for the efforts of the government rescue teams, they should receive better training.

  “How can [rescuers] search for missing mountain climbers when they are not familiar with the mountains?” he asked.

  Chinese Taipei Alpine Association president Chiang Chi-hsiang (江啟祥) said better cooperation between rescue teams and local residents was essential for mountain rescues because not all the rescuers at the National Fire Agency — the agency in charge of rescue missions — know the specifics of all the nation’s mountainous areas.

  The daughter of Chen Teng-sung (陳登嵩), who died after falling off the side of Mount Huangdi Temple (皇帝殿) in Shihding (石碇), New Taipei City (新北市), on March 25, said she was saddened when she joined the search for her missing father the next day and saw that the search team only consisted of six rescuers.

  “The government has to change its mindset. I used to live in Japan. An incident like this would involve a search team of not just six people, but 70 or 80 people,” she said.

  Control Yuan member Huang Huang-hsiung (黃煌雄) accepted the appeal and said he would launch an investigation into the rescue system.
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