A 61-year-old man surnamed Hsieh and four friends hiked the Wu Ling Four Beauties at Wuling Farm yesterday and attempted to climb Mount Kalayeh this morning. Hsieh turned back midway to the mountain hut for unknown reasons, but when his friends returned to the hut in the evening, they found only his backpacks and no trace of him. The Taichung City Fire Bureau has dispatched personnel for a search and rescue operation.
The Taichung City Government Fire Bureau stated that the hiking group, composed of Hsieh and his four friends, had applied for a three-day mountaineering trip with the Shei-Pa National Park Headquarters. The group split into two teams—three and two members respectively—to tackle Mount Kalayeh.
Hsieh and the first team set off from Taoshan Mountain Hut at 10:30 a.m., followed by the second team 30 minutes later.
Members of the second team said that when they reached the 0.7 km mark, they encountered Hsieh returning and saying that the mountain weather was poor, the views might not be worthwhile, and he was feeling physically exhausted, so he wanted to go back to Taoshan Mountain Hut. The others continued their climb.
In the evening around 4 or 5 p.m., both teams returned to the mountain hut in sequence, but only Hsieh’s heavy gear was found inside. His person and the lightweight gear he had been carrying during the hike were missing. The group quickly reported the incident and requested assistance.
After receiving the report, the Second Disaster Rescue Team of the Taichung City Government Fire Bureau dispatched personnel up the mountain at 8:30 p.m. and is preparing to conduct a rescue mission early tomorrow morning. 1050411
(CNA)