To avoid paying the entrance fee for Mount Lao, on the morning of May 1, four seniors in their sixties from Tangshan, Hebei, risked taking an “unauthorized trail” up the mountain. Unexpectedly, when they reached the area near Shiwu Jian, one of them suffered a fractured ankle and was immobile. Unable to provide an exact location of where they were trapped, all four were left stranded on the mountain. After receiving the report, a search and rescue team composed of police officers from the Shahukou Border Police Station in Laoshan District and firefighters immediately headed into the mountain. After five hours of intense searching, they finally rescued the stranded tourists and brought them down the mountain.
Hiker fractures leg and gets trapped on mountain
“There is an elderly person near the Dahedong Reservoir in Mount Lao who injured their leg while hiking and is currently being searched for.” At around 1 p.m. on May 1, a local resident Mr. Xu called our hotline 96663 to report that the injured tourist had been trapped for over two hours and had not yet been found. By the time reporters arrived, the trapped individuals had already been rescued. Police Officer Xu from the Shahukou Border Police Station briefed the reporters on the situation at the time.
According to the report, the trapped tourists were four in total—two men and two women, all over 60 years old—and were tourists from Tangshan, Hebei, visiting Qingdao. “We received the call at 10:40 a.m. The caller said a female tourist had accidentally twisted her ankle while hiking and was trapped on the mountain,” Officer Xu explained. After receiving the report, he and two other officers drove to the area near the Dahedong Reservoir. “There were five or six small paths, none of which allowed vehicle access, so we had to walk,” Officer Xu said. During this time, they continuously tried to contact the trapped tourists by phone, but unfortunately, the trapped tourists could not specify their exact location.
Search took four hours to locate them
At around 11:30 a.m., the police officers met up with the firefighters who had come to assist in the search. They also contacted three members of the joint defense team and four forest fire prevention personnel. Officer Xu explained that through conversations with the trapped tourists, the joint defense members were able to roughly determine the tourists’ location. The search team then continued searching in the direction of Mount Jufeng. At around 2:30 p.m., the rescuers finally found the four trapped tourists on a rock near Shiwu Jian.
“At the time, the injured tourist was sitting on the ground. Although her right ankle had received some basic treatment, it was very swollen,” Officer Xu said. According to the information gathered, the injured tourist, surnamed Gao, was 62 years old. Her companions were also tourists from Tangshan, Hebei, visiting Qingdao, all over 60 years old. They had started hiking at around 8 a.m., but when they reached the area near Shiwu Jian, Ms. Gao misstepped and twisted her right ankle. “They were all relatively old. Seeing that Ms. Gao was injured and unable to carry her, and not being familiar with the area, they immediately called the police,” Officer Xu said.
Rescued 12 tourists in three days
“They chose to evade the ticket fee and took the risk of climbing up via an unauthorized trail!” Officer Xu said. After locating the injured tourist, the rescuers took turns carrying Ms. Gao down the mountain. Due to the steep and rocky path, they had to rotate carriers frequently. It wasn’t until around 3:30 p.m. that the injured tourist was finally carried down and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. She was diagnosed with a fractured right ankle.
In response, Director Yu from the Emergency Department of Qingdao Third People’s Hospital reminded elderly hiking enthusiasts that since health emergencies among seniors can occur without warning, even those in relatively good health should carry emergency medications such as heart rescue pills when hiking. Elderly individuals who choose to eat on the mountain should also bring medication for stomach discomfort. They should stick to well-traveled paths, avoid remote trails, and always act within their physical limits.
On May 1, reporters learned from Laoshan police that during the three-day holiday, officers rescued a total of 12 tourists. It is understood that in response to the increased number of visitors during the holiday period, Laoshan police organized patrols by officers from scenic area police stations and fire departments to enhance security at various scenic spots and carried out consecutive rescue operations.