Five hikers missing in adventure rescued after costly rescue operation

　　At around 11:00 a.m. on August 20, the five hikers who had gone missing during a hike in the Changtan River Canyon contacted their families and the rescue command center to report that they were safe. Subsequently, the search and rescue teams confirmed the hikers’ location. By 3:00 p.m., the rescuers found the five hikers on Longdao Mountain within Jinxiu County and escorted them down the mountain back to Lipu County. At around 7:50 p.m. that evening, the five hikers safely returned to Guilin, marking the end of the entire rescue operation.

　　The search and rescue operation for the hikers saw prompt mobilization of rescue teams from Guilin City, Lipu County, and Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County. While dealing with flood control and disaster relief, the search continued for four days, involving significant human, material, and financial resources. Who should bear the cost of this rescue effort has sparked discussion among netizens and local residents.

　　On the morning of August 20, search and rescue teams dispatched by Guilin City, Lipu County, and Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County were still searching for the five missing hikers in the Changtan River Canyon and surrounding high mountains. Due to rain, a landslide had blocked the road to Liumulin Forest Farm, forcing the command center to bring in a small excavator to clear the way.

　　By the morning of the 20th, the rain had stopped and the weather cleared. At 11:30 a.m. that day, Mr. Liang, a relevant official from the Guilin Hiking Association, called a reporter from Nanguo Morning News, reporting that the wife of “Menba,” one of the missing hikers, had received a call from him saying he was safe. It turned out that the five hikers had climbed out of the canyon, and as soon as their phones got a signal, they called home to report they were safe.

　　Subsequently, the reporter relayed this information to Mr. Wan Zhongshan, a relevant official from the Lipu County search and rescue command center and deputy director of the county government office. Wan said they too had re-established contact with the missing hikers and confirmed that all five were safe. The rescue team then pinpointed the missing individuals’ location on Longdao Mountain. Guided by a local, they swiftly headed to the area. Due to the rugged mountain paths, rescuers often had to push the vehicles from behind. By 2:30 p.m., the search team found the five hikers—who had been out of contact with the outside world for four days—on the summit of Longdao Mountain.

　　Account
　　Trapped in the canyon for days due to flash floods

　　According to the hikers, on August 15, after cooking noodles at Dayankou, they were forced to set up camp and rest when flash floods made further progress impossible. On August 16, they walked along the mountainside to Xiaohekou but couldn’t cross the river due to the high water level. They found a sheltered recess at the foot of the mountain and built a makeshift shelter to protect against wind and rain. From the 16th to the 19th, they stayed there. On the morning of the 20th, after the rain stopped and the river level dropped, they fashioned a wooden raft to cross the river, then hiked up to an area with phone signal and immediately called to report they were safe.

　　In the afternoon of August 20, the five hikers returned to Lipu County with the rescue team and were given a working lunch. The county government then arranged for a vehicle to take them back to Guilin. At 8:00 p.m., Mr. Liang told Nanguo Morning News that the five hikers had arrived in downtown Guilin at 7:50 p.m. that evening.

　　It is understood that at 2:00 p.m. on August 17, after receiving a report about missing hikers, the Lipu County police, along with the local county committee, county government, Lipu County Public Security Bureau, fire brigade, and Xiuren Town Government, promptly organized a search and rescue team to the scene. At the time, Typhoon Utor was impacting the region, bringing heavy rain to both Jinxiu and Lipu, trapping other locals who also urgently needed rescue.

　　Despite these challenges, to search for the missing hikers, Lipu County maintained a search force of around 60 people daily, while Jinxiu assembled a rescue team of about 40. On August 19, around 30 personnel from Guilin’s special police and fire departments were dispatched to Lipu County to provide additional support.

　　Wan Zhongshan said that over the four-day search, rescue teams braved heavy rain and life-threatening conditions, moving through the Changtan River Canyon and surrounding mountains. The operation required preparing supplies and equipment for rescuers, deploying excavators to clear paths, and more. The county government invested considerable human, material, and financial resources. “The exact cost hasn’t been tallied yet as the rescue just ended, but it must have been substantial.”

　　Regarding how to prevent similar incidents, Wan Zhongshan said that since the Changtan River Canyon is an undeveloped scenic area without dedicated management, and located at the junction of two counties, most hikers enter from Jinxiu into Lipu, making regulation very difficult. It ultimately relies on the hikers’ own discretion. Previously, there have been incidents of hikers being trapped in the Changtan River Canyon, though not as many people were involved and the rescue operations weren’t as large-scale.

　　At 9:00 p.m. on the 20th, Nanguo Morning News learned that at 1:00 a.m. on the 19th, a rescue team consisting of two special police officers, four firefighters, and a guide had entered the mountains. Due to the treacherous terrain, they had not yet come down by 9:00 p.m. on the 20th. However, phone contact had been made and the rescuers were confirmed to be safe.

　　August 13: Five hikers entered the Changtan River just before an approaching typhoon;

　　August 17: Around 2:00 p.m., a report of missing hikers was received. Lipu deployed over 20 people to the scene, while Xiuren Town Government mobilized village cadres and residents along the river to assist in the search;

　　August 18: The Lipu County Government sent a letter to the Jinxiu Yao Autonomous County Government, initiating a joint search effort between the two counties with over 100 rescuers involved;

　　August 19: The Guilin Municipal Public Security Bureau dispatched two deputy directors along with special fire and police units to reinforce efforts in Lipu and Jinxiu;

　　August 20: The five missing hikers were found and safely returned to Guilin that evening.

　　With frequent incidents of hikers getting into trouble, each time the government has to mobilize significant manpower, financial, and material resources for rescue. Some netizens and citizens argue that rescue expenses, funded by taxpayer money, effectively use social resources to cover individual adventures. Therefore, hikers should bear corresponding rescue costs. In response, a relevant official from the Lipu County Government stated that government rescue efforts are a moral obligation, but if the hikers do not proactively offer to cover the costs, the government finds it inappropriate to bring it up.

　　Zhao Jianhe, director of a law firm in Guangxi, believes that human life is above all else, and the search and rescue operation for the stranded hikers was not a waste of public resources. This is because hikers were indeed trapped, their families called for help, and it was only natural for the government to conduct the search and rescue.

　　Mr. Liang, a relevant official from the Guilin Hiking Association, said that hikers usually explore in a self-guided, independent travel style. Currently, there are no specific regulations or standards in China governing outdoor self-guided travel. It is understood that some hikers, when speaking to their families by phone, blamed them for calling the police, which led to such a large-scale rescue operation and made them feel very uneasy. The hikers believed they were just temporarily facing difficulties and had the ability to overcome them.

　　● In late June 2006, Xiao Dong, a resident of Nanning, posted online to gather people for a camping trip to Zhaojiang in the Daming Mountain area within Wuming. On July 8 of that year, under Xiao Dong’s organization, 13 hikers traveled by car to Zhaojiang in Liangjiang Town, Wuming County, to go camping. Around 7 a.m. the next morning, a flash flood occurred in the Zhao River, sweeping away the tents on the riverbed, and one hiker tragically lost their life to the flood. The Qingxiu District People's Court of Nanning issued a ruling in the case: the 12 hikers were ordered to pay the victim’s family a total of 211,925.44 yuan in death compensation and emotional distress damages, with Xiao Dong, the organizer of the activity, bearing the primary liability. (For details, see the report on page 4 of the Nanguo Morning Post on November 23, 2006.)

　　● On the afternoon of August 1, 2008, 23 hikers were caught in a sudden flash flood in the Daming Mountain area of Nanning, with 8 of them swept away by the floodwaters. Wuming County organized over 500 government workers and local residents to participate in the search and rescue. By the morning of August 2, rescuers successfully saved 5 hikers, while the other 3 were confirmed to have tragically perished. (For details, see the report on page 8 of the Nanguo Morning Post on August 3, 2008.)

　　● On the morning of January 5, 2011, police in Guilin City and Guanyang County separately received reports from Ms. Tang and Ms. Zhong, both residents of Guilin, stating that several hikers, including their husbands, had entered the Qianjiadong Nature Reserve in Guanyang County for exploration and had not been in contact with their families for five days. Upon receiving the reports, Guanyang County immediately dispatched multiple search teams to enter the Qianjiadong Nature Reserve. Due to a severe cold front causing ice on the mountain and trapping the hikers, the rescue efforts faced great difficulty. As a result, on January 13, tourism and other departments in Guilin jointly launched the “Guilin Outdoor Hiking Tourism Convention” (draft for discussion), along with the “Outdoor Activity Safety Manual,” and recommended 12 relatively safe and well-established hiking routes in the area.