Last year, Hualien County saw 16 hiking accidents, resulting in 4 deaths and 16 injuries, with rescue efforts costing NT$1.5 million and putting immense strain on search and rescue teams. The Hualien County Fire Bureau has proposed to the central government that legislation be amended to require hikers to carry "GPS satellite locators" when applying for mountain entry permits, and only then will they be allowed access. The bureau also offers free applications to borrow "GPS satellite locators".
Many well-known mountains in the Hualien area attract large numbers of hikers, but this has also led to frequent accidents in the mountains, exhausting rescue personnel. Especially, just confirming the location of an accident requires expanding the search area, posing significant challenges in terms of manpower and resources. In light of this, Hualien County Councilor Liu Xiaomei donated nine GPS satellite locators to the Hualien County Fire Bureau in March last year, which were available for hikers to borrow free of charge, but in the past year, only single-digit numbers of people have borrowed them.
Deputy Fire Chief Lin Jianyi said the nine locators are placed at the Xinxio, Rueisuei, and Yuli fire stations, and are available for hikers to borrow free of charge, but the results have been disappointing. Therefore, to avoid difficulties in searching for accidents in the mountains, the central government intends to amend laws to mandate that hikers carry GPS satellite locators in order to enter the mountains.
Lin Jianyi said that GPS satellite locators can accurately track users’ movements, which can greatly reduce the burden on rescue operations.
Hiking is a very good recreational activity, but to reduce accidents and lower the difficulty of rescue operations, he urged hikers to always carry GPS satellite locators.
(China Broadcasting Corporation)