Mon, Feb 19, 2024 page2

• Two hikers rescued after body found on Yushan

  TAKE PRECAUTIONS: Never hike alone and prepare food, water and appropriate equipment for Taiwan’s mountains, particularly in the winter, officials said

  • By Liu Pin-chuan and Jason Pan / Staff reporters
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  Two mountain hikers were rescued yesterday, a day after a body was airlifted out of Yushan National Park, one of several deaths related to mountaineering or hiking in the past two weeks, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday.

  A Nantou County mountain rescue team called for a helicopter while responding to a call yesterday morning.

  They said a woman surnamed Chen (陳), 31, and a man surnamed Lin (林), 32, got lost in the mountains around the Batongguan Historic Trail (八通關古道), while traveling west toward Dongpu Township (東埔).

  

  Hikers maneuver along a vertical rock wall on Yushan in an undated photograph.

  Photo courtesy of the Nantou County Fire Bureau via CNA

  They were directed to a nearby alpine meadow, where the helicopter landed with four rescuers at about noon.

  Determining that Chen was too weak to hike out of the area and that Lin had a twisted ankle, rescuers airlifted them a sports field of a nearby school to be transported by ambulance to a hospital.

  On Friday, a body was discovered in a ravine near Yushan’s (玉山) south peak trail, the ministry said.

  Local rescuers moved the body to a clearing, and on Saturday the National Airborne Service Corps (NASC) arrived in a UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter to take the body to Kaohsiung International Airport, it said.

  The body was identified as a 50-year-old man surname Huang (黃), who had registered with Yushan National Park Headquarters to climb the park’s 2,980m Lushan (鹿山) alone.

  Park officials said he had registered to enter the park on Tuesday last week, and after reaching the summit, he planned to exit the park on Thursday last week, using a forestry road at the south side of the mountain.

  He likely slipped and fell 100m to his death in the ravine, they said.

  It was the second death in Yushan National Park within a week.

  On Feb. 11 the NASC sent a helicopter to retrieve the body of a 30-year-old man surnamed Hsu (徐), who fell to his death along the Batongguan Historic Trail.

  Officials said Hsu had led a four-person group from Taipei to hike the Central Mountain Range, entering at the Tataka Trailhead (塔塔加登山口) on Feb. 10.

  Due to icy conditions, Hsu lost his footing at Yushan Wind Gap (玉山風口), falling more than 300m down a ravine, said hikers at the scene, who reported that it was below freezing at the time.

  On Wednesday last week, a 47-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王) died after she was rescued in Hualien County, officials said.

  The NASC airlifted Wang after she was injured in a fall, but she later died, possibly due to altitude sickness, they said.

  The NASC also airlifted a woman surnamed Chien (簡) who injured her leg while among a group of five hikers attempting to climb the 3,279m Lulushan (轆轆山) in Hualien’s Chuosi Township (卓溪).

  Hikers seeking to trek Taiwan’s mountains in the winter should stock up on food and water, and prepare equipment appropriate for the conditions, which could include snow and ice, particular on peaks above 3,000m, officials said.

  Hikers should have safety helmets, ice picks, crampons and hiking boots, and should never hike alone, they said, adding that people should hike with groups, which should include a team leader who has mountaineering guide certification.

  Emergency service units in Nantou County and elsewhere reported numerous calls requesting rescues for hikers, some of whom were alone, they said.

  Many were unable to continue their treks due to altitude sickness, which sometimes afflicts people at more than 2,300m, while others had sustained ankle and leg injuries, they said.

  Additional reporting by Su Fu-nan, Hsieh Chieh-yu and Tsai Cheng-mi
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