Three firefighters from the Taipei City Fire Department were climbing South Erzi Mountain in Hualien when one of them, surnamed Li, went missing after searching for a water source. The other two spent a day looking for him without success before reporting the case. The Hualien County Fire Bureau has formed a rescue team that set out early this morning to begin the search.
The three firefighters—surnamed Tsai, Lin, and Li from the Taipei City Fire Department—had planned to climb South Erzi Mountain in Hualien during the 228 holiday. On the morning of February 28, they started their ascent via the Shoufeng River and set up camp at an altitude of 580 meters that evening. The next day, they pitched camp at 1,050 meters.
On the evening of March 1, Li went to look for a water source and went missing, with no contact afterward. The other two searched the area for a day but failed to find him. They decided to descend yesterday and reported the incident to the Xilin Police Station of Hualien’s Fenglin Precinct at 5:00 p.m., also notifying Li’s family.
A rescue team comprising members from the Hualien County Fire Bureau and the Taipei City Fire Department set out early this morning to begin the search.
Separately, a hiking group of three men and one woman began ascending the Zhiduo Trans-mountain Ancient Trail from Jiawu Village in Wutai Township, Pingtung County, on February 25, with plans to take a vehicle from the 8.4-kilometer point of the Zhiben Forest Road back to Kaohsiung today.
One of the hikers, surnamed Wu, injured his knee yesterday afternoon while descending to a stream to fetch water. Finding it difficult to walk, he called for help. The Taitung County Fire Bureau has assembled a rescue team that set out in two groups early this morning to carry out the rescue operation. 1060304
(CNA)