After senior police officer Ko Yu-kun went missing while climbing Yünfeng, one of Taiwan’s Hundred Peaks, search and rescue teams from Taitung and Kaohsiung split up to advance into the mountainous area. Today, rescuers reached the Lakuyin Creek Mountain Hut and discovered equipment left behind by Ko Yu-kun, including a sleeping bag and cooking gear, but his whereabouts remain unknown. Kaohsiung City Police Commissioner Chen Chia-chin expressed deep concern, stressing that the rescue operation is urgent and praying for Ko’s safe return.
Search personnel from the Taitung Fire Bureau had originally planned to take a helicopter to Jiayi Lake for the rescue mission yesterday, but due to poor weather, they returned on the same flight. The first group of four rescuers switched to a ground approach. With improved weather today, the second batch of four rescuers flew into the mountains, landing at Jiayi Lake Helipad and were the first to arrive at the Lakuyin Creek Mountain Hut.
Rescuers at the hut found equipment left by Ko Yu-kun, including a sleeping bag, sleeping mat, cooking utensils, changes of clothes, and food supplies. Subsequently, the rescuers, traveling light, headed to Nanshuangtou Mountain to continue the search but found nothing by the afternoon. They then returned to the mountain hut to join the first group of ground-based rescuers. A larger-scale search is expected to begin tomorrow.
In Kaohsiung, the Fire Bureau dispatched six team members led by Guo Mulong, captain of the 17th Brigade, to enter the mountains for the search on the 17th. They also applied to the National Fire Agency for one helicopter, which departed from Meinong Junior High School to assist in the search. The seven landed at Lulugu Valley and headed toward Yünfeng. On the 19th, colleagues from the Kaohsiung City Police Department who are keen mountaineers also formed their own rescue team to enter the mountains, while two deputy chiefs were sent to Liugui and Taitung to oversee command operations.
A Taitung-based mountaineer surnamed Yu said that mountain weather changes rapidly, and temperatures drop significantly at night. Carrying a full load of gear is essential to surviving in such terrain. Ko Yu-kun, who reportedly climbed to the summit with minimal equipment, has been missing since. The harsh survival conditions in the mountains make the chances of survival slim, and the vast area makes finding him extremely difficult.
Fellow climber Cheng Jian-yu told firefighters that on the morning of the 13th, he had to descend due to altitude sickness. He parted ways with Ko Yu-kun and Chen Tai-quan at the “Yushan Juniper” area near Xiangyang. Chen and Ko continued toward the Lakuyin Mountain Hut. According to the itinerary, Ko was scheduled to descend on the 16th.
(China Times)