TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The body of a lone mountaineer has been found at the bottom of a cliff on Taiwan’s Central Range Point and will be airlifted out on Sunday (Oct. 4).
Taichung City Fire Bureau received a call on Sept. 24 from the family of a 57-year-old New Taipei City man surnamed Wang (王). The family informed the bureau that Wang had been on a seven-day trip to climb the first and second northern sections of the Central Mountain Range and that he had entered the mountains via Siyuan in Yilan County on Sept. 15, according to CNA.
Wang’s last communication was recorded on Sept. 19, when he sent photos from Central Range Point, a mountain with an elevation of 3,703 meters (12,149 feet), the fire bureau said. Unable to establish contact with Wang since then, the family grew concerned and called for help.
The National Fire Agency (NFA) said that on Oct. 2, a drone equipped with cameras revealed a suspicious object 200 m below the south side of a cliff along the notorious Ridge of Death on Central Range Point. On Oct. 3, search and rescue personnel were able to confirm that the "object" was a human body.
Upon receiving confirmation, the Taichung City Fire Bureau immediately called for a helicopter to retrieve the body. However, as the terrain was too steep for an airlift to be conducted, the helicopter was forced to fly back.
On Sunday morning, the search and rescue team reached the top of Central Range Point, and they proceeded to rappel down the Ridge of Death. After the groundwork is complete, the body will be airlifted to Dongshi Riverside Park.
(Taichung City Fire Bureau photo)
