A high school student surnamed Tseng from Yunlin suffered from acute high-altitude pulmonary edema while climbing Lake Jiaming. He was carried down the mountain by a porter, then bound to the body of the chief of Xiangyang Police Station, who used a motorcycle to meet an ambulance and transport him to hospital.
During the 228 consecutive holiday, over 500 hikers flocked to Lake Jiaming. As Shelter 2 on the Lake Jiaming Trail has only 140 beds, most hikers had to set up tents on rugged terrain, affecting sleep and rest quality and leading to poor physical condition.
Thirty-five teachers and students from a children’s home in Yunlin climbed Lake Jiaming on 228 and arrived at the shelter the following evening.
Police said that in the early hours of today, the Tseng student developed symptoms such as coughing and vomiting but did not inform his teacher. Around 6 a.m., while descending from the shelter, he experienced angina pectoris and was unable to walk after 20 minutes, prompting the trip leader to seek help from the Xiangyang Recreation Area of the Forestry Bureau.
Zhang Nengwei, chief of Xiangyang Police Station in Taitung County, police officer Du Zhenchang, and porters immediately headed up the mountain. The Tseng student was already unconscious, coughing up blood, and had protruding eyeballs. Suspecting acute pulmonary edema, they worked together to carry him down.
From Xiangyang Recreation Area to the trailhead, the path had been washed out by rain, preventing jeeps and ambulances from ascending. In the critical situation, Zhang Nengwei tied the Tseng student to himself, rode a police motorcycle down the mountain, while others ran alongside the motorcycle to protect both rider and vehicle.
Half an hour later, the patient was delivered to the meeting point with an ambulance at Xiangyang Recreation Area and transported to Guanshan Tzu Chi Hospital. The patient has gradually regained consciousness and is now in stable condition.
Police urge that climbing Lake Jiaming should not be taken lightly — not only must equipment be complete, but one must also understand their own physical condition. 1030302
(CNA)