Over 20 elderly “hikers” found city parks uninteresting, so they organized a trip to hike Baiquan Mountain in Huairou. However, they got stranded there, with one suffering a fracture. On the 13th, firefighters from Huairou and emergency responders from 999 spent five hours rescuing them down the mountain.
Around 9:30 p.m. on the 13th, several fire trucks and 999 ambulances were on standby at the foot of Baiquan Mountain in northern Huairou. At that time, five firefighters were slowly carrying a stretcher down the mountain trail. A team member explained that although Baiquan Mountain isn’t very high, its paths are winding and narrow, barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Moreover, most trails follow the stream, which caused what was supposed to be a one-hour hike to stretch to five hours. On the stretcher was an injured person, over 50 years old, with a leg fracture and a pale complexion. Upon reaching the temporary command post at the foot of the mountain, he repeatedly cupped his hands in gratitude, and though his voice was weak, he kept thanking the rescuers. This injured hiker was part of a “mountain friends group” composed of over 20 seniors. The oldest in the group is over 70, and the youngest is also over 50.
One elderly hiker said they had been meeting up to hike and explore nature for over a decade, but this was the first time someone got injured and stranded. According to him, around 1 p.m. yesterday, the hiker on the stretcher slipped on the ice and couldn’t get up. After checking his injury, they found he had a fracture. One hiker went ahead down the mountain to call for help, while the others carried the stretcher behind. It took them four hours just to get over the first hill. It wasn’t until around 5 p.m. that the rescue team arriving from the foot of the mountain brought some hope.
A reporter consulted Hai Mao, leader of the Green Field Rescue Team. According to him, based on their statistics, since 2009, the number of elderly people venturing into the mountains for exploration has gradually increased, and their activities have shifted from individual trips to group outings. In rescue incidents involving people getting stranded in the mountains that Green Field has been involved in over the past two years, the elderly accounted for 30%, with two such cases already occurring this year.
