At 09:56 on the 19th, the Taoyuan City Fire Department received a report from the public that a male hiker surnamed Li had gone hiking on Mount Taman in Fuxing District on the 18th and was currently missing and lost. The caller requested assistance from 119 for a search operation. The fire department immediately dispatched personnel from the Balin Squad, Second Search, and Fourth Search — a total of nine firefighters — who geared up and headed to the scene to assist in the search.
The Balin Squad’s team leader, Tong Yingdun, led the firefighters and arrived at the trailhead at 11:00 to begin searching for the missing individual. They attempted to contact him by phone along the way, but due to poor signal caused by the mountainous terrain and obstructions, they were unable to get through. The firefighters could only shout along the hiking route in hopes of locating the lost hiker.
Fortunately, the team discovered the man surnamed Li approximately 1,200 meters from the trailhead. After assessing his condition, they found he was physically stable with no external injuries, though he was suffering from exhaustion. The rescuers immediately provided him with food and warm drinking water, allowed him to rest briefly on-site, and then guided him to a safe location at the Mount Taman trailhead.
According to the lost hiker, after entering the mountains, the weather turned bad and it started to rain. When he reached about 1,600 meters in elevation, he decided to turn back. On the way down, he took a wrong turn at a fork in the trail. After spending the night resting in the mountains, he returned to the original area this morning and was spotted by the firefighters.
Dai Mingshan, head of the Fire Department’s Fourth Division, urged the public to make full preparations before hiking, pay attention to weather forecasts issued by the Central Weather Bureau, avoid venturing into the mountains during inclement weather, and descend immediately if it starts to rain to prevent danger or getting trapped in the mountains.
(China Times)