The Ministry of the Interior might support fees for people who are rescued by air in mountainous areas after minor or preventable hiking accidents, the ministry told lawmakers on Thursday.
Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) made the remark during a session of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee in which lawmakers highlighted the rising number of medical evacuations conducted by the National Airborne Service Corps last year.
The corps last year conducted 453 rescue missions, a 39.7 percent rise from 2019, accounting for more than 17 hours of flight time, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said, citing government records.
Photo copied by Liu Pin-chuan, Taipei Times
Most of them were due to hiking accidents, involving people who went to mountainous areas without a guide or sufficient preparation, she said.
The surge in domestic travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic might have contributed to the trend, Kuan said.
“While there should not be a general charge for the services, those who abuse them should pay for it,” she said.
DPP Legislator Lo Mei-ling (羅美玲) urged a user-pays principle, saying that this would help deter ill-prepared people from going into mountainous areas.
DPP Legislator Wang Mei-hui (王美惠) said that the government should draft a bill introducing fees for hikers who neglectfully necessiate rescue missions.
“People cannot knowingly go unprepared to the mountains and expect to be bailed out,” she said.
In response, Kuo said that the ministry supports proposals to charge people who need to be rescued after minor or preventable accidents due to insufficient preparation.
“They cannot call the corps to pick them up just because they feel dizzy,” he said.
Corps Captain Ching Yen-yuan (井延淵) said that the corps would discuss the issue with the National Fire Agency as well as other government departments involved in mountain search-and-rescue operations.
Rescuing a person by helicopter costs about NT$200,000, depending on the weather and terrain where an incident occurs, Ching said, adding that hikers usually do not cause rescue mission in easy terrain.
“Some search-and-rescue missions take two or three days. Sometimes specialists from other agencies have to be involved,” Ching said.
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