A hiking team from Taoyuan entered the mountainous area of Taoyuan District in Kaohsiung City on the 26th of last month, planning to spend six days climbing the southern section of the Southern Cross-Mountain Range, dubbed “Southern Section One.” However, 64-year-old team member Liu Hanqiu suffered from stomach bleeding on the 28th. Firefighters from Kaohsiung and Taitung joined forces in the search and rescue mission. Due to poor weather conditions, it was not until yesterday that an Air Rescue Squadron helicopter successfully located Liu and two other hikers. Unfortunately, Liu had already passed away. Rescue personnel winched his body down the mountain, and the cause of death is still under investigation.
The deceased, Liu Hanqiu, was the brother-in-law of Miaoli County Councilor Zhou Yuman. A passionate hiker, he tragically lost his life due to health complications in the high mountains. He was known for his efforts in promoting labor relations and marketing tourism. Friends and family described him as upright and warm-hearted, and they were deeply saddened by the news. Messages on the hikers’ Facebook page were filled with grief and reluctance to accept the loss. One person lamented, “We were supposed to finish the Northern Section Two together—how could this happen?”
Zhou Yuman said that his brother-in-law had set off on February 24th to climb the southern section of the Central Mountain Range with fellow hikers. The original plan was to complete the trip in six days. However, on 228 (Peace Memorial Day), he began experiencing discomfort, suspected to be altitude sickness, and both he and his wife had trouble eating.
At the time, poor communication made it difficult to call for help. Eventually, they borrowed a satellite phone from another hiking team to successfully request helicopter rescue. Unfortunately, the mission was delayed due to bad weather. Zhou Yuman said that his brother-in-law had asked for water at 1 a.m. two days prior but became unresponsive just two hours later. By the time the weather cleared enough for the helicopter to operate, it was too late.
The Kaohsiung City Fire Bureau received a distress call on the afternoon of the 28th. The Sixth Brigade dispatched eight personnel from the Taoyuan, Meinong, Liouguei, and Baolai fire stations, along with four firefighters from Taitung, to conduct a ground search. Since it takes two days to hike from Taoyuan District to the southern section, the Kaohsiung Fire Bureau contacted the Air Rescue Squadron to request aerial support.
The Air Rescue Squadron helicopter arrived at the target area at 7:54 a.m. on the 1st, but due to heavy cloud cover, it was unable to proceed and returned to Ching Chuan Kang Airport. Yesterday at around 10 a.m., the rescue helicopter took off again and reached the three stranded individuals, only to find that one of them, Liu, had already died.
Rescue personnel from Kaohsiung and Taitung were notified that the stranded hikers had been lifted by helicopter to Chiayi Shuishang Airport and were already on their way back after turning around from the Tengzhi Forest Road.
The Sen Tao Police Station of the Liouguei Precinct stated that no application for entry into the mountain had been filed by this hiking team. Rescue personnel noted that the southern section has been off-limits since the Typhoon Morakot disaster due to multiple landslides and dangerous conditions. They expressed shock that a hiking team would still take such a risk.