Mountaineer found dead at bottom of cliff in central Taiwan

中台灣的懸崖底部尋獲已死亡的登山者

Wang's family called for help after they were unable to establish contact with him


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The body of a lone mountaineer has been found at the bottom of a cliff in 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 man surnamed Wang (王) of New Taipei City. The family informed the bureau that Wang head been on a 7-day trip to climb the first and second northern sections of the Central Mountain Range by himself and had entered the mountains from Siyuan in Yilan County on Sept. 15, according to CNA.

Wang’s last communication was recorded on Sept. 19, when he sent out photos from Central Range Point, a mountain with an elevation of 3,703 m (12,149 ft), the fire bureau said. As they had been unable to establish any 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 meters below the south side of a cliff along the notorious Ridge of Death in Central Range Point. On Oct. 3, the search and rescue personnel were able to confirm that the suspicious object was a human body.

Upon receiving the confirmation, Taichung City Fire Bureau immediately applied for a helicopter to assist with the mission to retrieve the body. However, as the terrain was too steep for an airlift to be conducted, the helicopter flew back.

On Sunday morning, the search and rescue personnel reached the top of Central Range Point; then they proceeded to rappel down the Ridge of Death. After the groundwork is complete, an airlift operation will transport the body to Dongshi Riverside Park.