Five hikers climbing a mountain were stranded in the mountains due to Typhoon Lekima, which caused a major landslide on a forest road. After police and firefighters formed a joint rescue team to search the area, the rescuers located the five hikers at 7:44 a.m. on the 13th after nearly two days of trekking. All were unharmed and immediately began descending the mountain with the rescue team. The group has now reached the 9K point of Forest Road 230 and plans to continue toward the Xiaoxue Mountain Visitor Center before nightfall.
The five-person hiking team, led by a guide surnamed Yang, applied to the Shei-Pa National Park Headquarters on August 4 to climb Snow Mountain, with a planned descent on the 10th. Unexpectedly, when Typhoon Lekima struck, the five hikers attempted to descend via Forest Road 230 of Daxue Mountain but encountered a severe landslide at the 28K point, blocking their path and stranding them in the mountains.
With limited food supplies and facing the threat of running out, the hikers found a spot with mobile phone signal on the afternoon of the 11th, and urgently called for help from the Shei-Pa National Park Management Office’s Xueshan Management Station. They stayed overnight at a work shed near the 28K point while awaiting rescue.
Upon receiving the report, the park authority immediately alerted the Shei-Pa National Park Police Team and the Dahu Branch of Miaoli County Fire Bureau, who together formed a rescue team and set off up the mountain that afternoon. Due to heavy rains brought by Typhoon Lekima, Forest Road 230 of Daxue Mountain suffered multiple landslides of varying sizes, making the rescue team’s advance extremely difficult and forcing them to take detours around collapsed sections.
After nearly two days of strenuous effort, the rescue team finally found the five stranded hikers at around 7:44 a.m. on the 13th at the 28K point. All were safe but had suffered some hunger due to insufficient food. The rescue team provided them with instant rations to tide them over, then began leading them on a detour down the mountain. By 5 p.m. on the 13th, the group had reached the 9K point of Forest Road 230. A landslide there required them to take a high route around the blockage, causing further delays. The rescue team decided to push forward before dark in hopes of reaching the Xiaoxue Mountain Visitor Center by evening.
(China Times)