The government from January to September launched 100 mountain search-and-rescue missions, twice as many as the same period last year, with the number of rescuers dispatched being almost three times as many, Ministry of the Interior (MOI) statistics showed on Saturday.
The National Airborne Service Corps in the first nine months of this year conducted 3,211 search-and-rescue missions, 81 down from last year, mainly due to a decrease in maritime rescue missions, the statistics showed.
While 100 missions were launched for search-and-rescue services in mountainous areas, the number of such missions was only 50 in the same period last year, with the number of rescuers dispatched increasing from 18 to 52, the data showed.
Photo: Huang Ming-tang, Taipei Times
The annual number of mountain accidents in Taiwan averaged 159 from 2002 to last year, it showed.
However, the number of mountain accidents from January to August totaled 295, the statistics showed, suggesting that many people travel to the mountains without sufficient preparation
The surge in search-and-rescue missions in mountainous areas was not just due to more people attempting to climb mountains, but also due to commercial mountain-climbing groups advertising services to less experienced climbers, for example offering support staff who carries people’s equipment, said a ministry official, who declined to be named.
These services are often booked by people with little mountain-climbing experience, increasing the risks of accidents, the official said.
A mountain photographer, known as Vision of a Snow Ram (雪羊視界), said that while the government has in the past few years increasingly promoted outdoor activities, a bigger focus should be put on minimizing the negative effects of mountain tourism.
The government should improve search-and-rescue efforts in mountainous areas, cap the number of visitors to some areas and regulate commercial mountain-climbing groups, the photographer said, adding that efforts should also be made to raise public awareness of the dangers of mountain climbing.
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