The Taichung City Fire Bureau received a report this afternoon that a hiker from Tainan had fallen into a valley on Wogewei Mountain in Heping District. The hiker was rescued to the ground in the evening but was found without vital signs.
The Taichung City Fire Bureau stated that at around 2 p.m., they received a call from the public reporting that 35 members of the Tainan Zaokue Mountaineering Association were hiking on the Wogewei Mountain Trail near Guguan in Heping District when a 47-year-old male hiker surnamed Xu fell into a valley about 1.4 kilometers along the trail, prompting the rescue request.
The Second Disaster Relief and Ambulance Brigade of the Taichung City Fire Bureau immediately dispatched two teams from Dongshi and Heping, totaling three vehicles and six personnel, to assist. They also coordinated support from the military’s Liyang Camp, the Heping Community Rescue Team, and the Liyang Work Station of the Forestry Bureau.
The fire bureau said rescuers reached the injured person at 4:19 p.m. and confirmed that the individual had no vital signs. The victim had obvious trauma to the back of the head. The injured hiker was a member of the Tainan Zaokue Mountaineering Association surnamed Xu, who had gone hiking in Heping District that day. Fellow hikers noticed him slipping down the slope and immediately called for help.
The fire bureau pointed out that due to unstable weather conditions and intermittent heavy rain in recent days, mountainous areas have become steep and difficult to navigate. The man fell about 3 to 5 meters down the side of the trail, making the rescue mission challenging. Rescuers used ropes to carry the injured person back up to the hiking trail before transporting him to the trailhead. He was not loaded into an ambulance until 8:45 p.m. and was taken to Dongshi Farmers’ Hospital. 1030518
(CNA)