TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A rescue team helped two Portuguese hikers leave the mountains of Miaoli County unharmed after an eight-hour journey on Wednesday (Dec. 6).
The Taian Township Fire Brigade received a notice Tuesday (Dec. 5) around 5 p.m. that two Portuguese men around the age of 25 had gone missing in the Hushan Ma’ao Creek area. The hikers said they had no light, but sufficient food and warm clothing, per CNA.
The phone conversation was interrupted several times, but the fire service told the duo to stop moving along the river, due to the risk of them encountering a waterfall in the dark and falling down a slope. There was no path leading to their location, so the rescue team recruited residents and hacked itself a way through the undergrowth.
The group also used cables to pass by a waterfall and reach the two hikers following a four-hour journey. The Portuguese travelers were unharmed and immediately set off with the rescue team for the return journey.
The group reached Taian by 1 a.m. Wednesday. The two hikers turned down offers of medical care at a nearby hospital, but instead returned to their hotel to rest, the fire service said.