TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Two hikers have been found after going missing in a mountainous part of Miaoli County, firefighters said on Wednesday (Aug. 14).
Miaoli’s fire department said that one of the missing hikers was found on Yongan Mountain on Tuesday (Aug. 13) and the other was found the following day on the Xueshankeng Forest Road, per CNA. Both hikers were reportedly exhausted when found but did not require hospital treatment.
Fire fighters said they responded to a report received on Monday (Aug. 12) from friends of the hikers who had lost track of their whereabouts. One of the men had spent over 41 hours in the elements by the time he was located, members of the fire department’s search and rescue team said.
Rescuers said that trails in the area can be hard to follow in poor weather conditions. They said the path the hikers were on was not a popular route, and the rescue team encountered heavy rain and rockfalls along the trail as they searched.
Rescuers likened searching for missing people in the area to “finding a needle in a haystack,” and said they were only able to find the hikers because of information provided by their friends. They said the hikers’ mobile phones could not be reached during the search.
The Miaoli fire department warned the public to not attempt trails that are beyond their ability level, and recommended hikers carry a satellite phone if they are going on long hikes.