A nine-member hiking team from Tainan City applied to enter the mountains from Xiayang in Taitung on the 23rd, planning to hike the South Section Two and finish their journey in Dongpu, Nantou County, on the 28th. However, at around noon, while the group was 10.5 kilometers from Dongpu, the 59-year-old team leader surnamed Wang accidentally fell off a cliff. The Nantou County Fire Bureau and the Yushan National Park Administration dispatched personnel for search and rescue operations and requested support from an air rescue helicopter. By nightfall, only a backpack and clothing had been found, and the search will continue on the 29th.
Yushan National Park Administration Secretary Bangkaer HaiFanan stated that the accident occurred in the Duiguan area, which is only about two hours' walk from Dongpu. The Nantou County Fire Bureau received a report from a hiker surnamed Li at 12:09 p.m. and immediately deployed four firefighters and six volunteer firefighters to assist in the rescue; conservation patrol officer Fang Liang from the Yushan administration also went to provide support.
At 2:45 p.m., an air rescue helicopter departed from ChingChuanKang in Taichung, first conducting an aerial survey to pinpoint the location and then transporting six search personnel to GuanGao. Ground and aerial searches were subsequently carried out, with ground teams quickly descending to the fall site. At around 6 p.m., a satellite phone report indicated that a backpack had been found near the fall location, but the person was still missing, and the search will continue.
(China Times)