A hiker surnamed Huang fell 200 meters into a deep valley but sustained only multiple abrasions. Source: Taiwan’s United Daily News
China News Service, October 19 — According to Taiwan’s United Daily News, an eight-member hiking team from Kaohsiung, Taiwan, encountered an accident on October 18 at the Kalou Cliffs in the Qilai Mountain area of Hualien. Fifty-six-year-old Huang Xingchi fell 200 meters (meters) down a valley. The military dispatched a helicopter for the rescue, airlifting him aboard for medical treatment. He is not in life-threatening condition, and rescuers were amazed, exclaiming, “He’s incredibly lucky!”
The team consisted of six men and two women. They set out on October 16 from the Qilai Trailhead in Taroko National Park, Hualien, to challenge the Qilai Range, which stands over 3,000 meters above sea level, and planned to descend on October 20 from the Tunyuan Trailhead in Ren’ai Township, Nantou. On October 18, while passing by Kalou Mountain, Huang Xingchi is suspected to have lost his footing due to the narrow ridge path and fell off the cliff.
After Huang Xingchi fell, his teammates immediately called for help, with some using ropes to descend into the deep valley to search for him. Teammate Huang Qing said that when they reached the valley and saw Huang Xingchi lying on the ground, he had only flesh wounds and was still able to talk to them. “It might have been the thick undergrowth on the cliff that acted as a cushion and saved him,” he said.
“You’re really incredibly lucky!” Huang Qing and others reached out to help Huang Xingchi up, but to their surprise, the physically robust Huang Xingchi didn’t need assistance and slowly climbed back up the 200-meter-high cliff on his own.
The Hualien County Fire Bureau received the report on October 18 and dispatched personnel to search the mountain. However, advancing from the Qilai Trailhead would take at least two days to reach the site, so the fire bureau instead applied to the rescue center for a seagull helicopter to conduct an airlift rescue. At around 2 p.m. on October 18, they successfully transported Huang down the mountain and sent him to Chiayi Veterans Hospital for treatment. He sustained only two lacerations on the head, several abrasions on his left calf and body, and was fully conscious.