The Nantou County Government earlier this month began enforcing regulations that stipulate fines for illegal mountain climbing and makes hikers responsible for a portion of search and rescue costs.
According to the new regulations, people who intentionally enter unauthorized areas and neglect to carry GPS devices or other communication equipment are to be responsible for search and rescue costs, in addition to paying a fine of between NT$3,000 and NT$50,000.
Passed by the Nantou County Council in August last year, the regulations are a response to a lawsuit over the death of a mountaineer in 2011, in which the Nantou County Fire Department was ordered to pay NT$2.67 million (US$86,904) in compensation to the family of the deceased for what the court ruled was an inadequate search and rescue operation it performed.
Photo: Hsieh Chieh-yu, Taipei Times
The county is contesting the verdict.
Although the county has enacted the regulations, a portion mandating mountain climbers to buy accident insurance has not yet been implemented, fire department Director Lin Tsung-chi (林聰吉) said on Wednesday.
The mandate is pending insurers’ consent to extend accident coverage to expeditions with fewer than five climbers, but the department said a deal should be reached late next month at the earliest, Lin said, adding that the remaining regulations have taken effect and authorities will deal with violators accordingly.
The fire department rescued more than 130 people recently, including 34 who were evacuated by helicopter, costing the public an estimated NT$13 million, Lin said.
In addition, the county hopes the central government can reach a deal with insurance providers to include helicopter search and rescue costs in insurance schemes, Lin said.
The Taichung City Government submitted similar regulations to the Executive Yuan last month that are also pending implementation amid negotiations with insurers, Taichung Fire Bureau Director Hsiao Huan-chang (蕭煥章) said.
The city has asked the Financial Supervisory Commission to negotiate with insurers over the industry’s rules against extending coverage to small groups of mountain climbers, Lin said, adding that the city believes a deal would be made next month.
While the city’s regulations make illegal mountain climbers responsible for the costs of aviation fuel expended on search and rescue missions, as the central government has not set a standard for calculating those costs, implementation of that portion is pending, he said.
“Receiving no recognition for success and only blame for failure harms the morale of our firefighter brothers. I believe the regulations will have a deterrent effect on illegal mountain climbing and would result in less waste of disaster response resources,” Nantou County Firefighter Association president Hung Ming-kuo (洪明科) said.
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