A hiker surnamed Huang was swept away by a river yesterday in the Aowanda Mountain area of Nantou’s Ren’ai Township. Rescue teams searched through the night and found Huang’s body on the riverbed this morning, with no signs of life.
Nantou County Fire Bureau reported that a five-person hiking team from Taichung was climbing Nenggao Antongjun Mountain in Ren’ai Township. At 10:40 a.m. yesterday, while crossing the southern section of the Aowanda River, 56-year-old team member Huang was unexpectedly washed away by a sudden surge of water. Due to poor mobile phone signal in the mountainous area, it wasn’t until 4:15 p.m. that his companions found a spot with reception and called for help.
Ren’ai Township police and firefighters immediately deployed 19 rescuers for an overnight search. This morning, a helicopter transported over 10 additional personnel into the area. Teams searched both upstream and downstream from Aowanda Forest Recreation Area and Wujie Dam. Around 8 a.m., they found what appeared to be the hiker’s jacket and backpack. At around 9 a.m., Huang’s body was located on the downstream riverbed, but he showed no signs of life.
The fire bureau stated that due to the rugged terrain, they applied for a helicopter from the Air Rescue Squadron around 10 a.m. to lift the body. If the weather permits, the remains should be transported down the mountain soon. 1020616
(CNA)