[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] The Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters has prepared measures such as deploying hiking trail safety keepers in response to the frequent occurrence of mountain accidents in the fall season.
The Fire and Disaster Headquarters first analyzed big data on mountain accidents and identified risk factors in 16 accident-prone areas in Gyeonggi, including Wang-gwan Rock on Gwanak Mountain in Anyang, recommending improvements to relevant local governments and related agencies.
Additionally, safety keepers were deployed at 59 major hiking trails including Gwanggyo Mountain and Cheonggye Mountain, and defects were repaired at 1,102 mountain location signposts and 132 simple rescue first aid kits.
The hiking trail safety keepers play a role in assisting safe hiking by providing prompt emergency treatment in case of urgent situations such as slips or breathing difficulties at the entrances of hiking trail sections where mountain accidents frequently occur. There are a total of 1,512 hiking trail safety keepers in the province, composed of fire officers and volunteer firefighters.
Furthermore, to enhance mountain rescue response capabilities, rescue training was conducted on major hiking trails and rope training grounds in the region, and 15 additional fire drones were deployed to improve the search ability for missing persons.
Nam Hwa-young, head of the Gyeonggi-do Fire and Disaster Headquarters, said, "Among the 11,952 mountain accident rescues nationwide last year, Gyeonggi-do accounted for 2,428 cases, the highest in the country," and urged, "Please choose hiking courses suitable for your physical strength and use designated hiking trails for a safe and enjoyable hike."
Meanwhile, according to the Fire and Disaster Headquarters, an analysis of seasonal mountain accident numbers in the province over the past three years from 2019 to 2021 showed that the fall season (September to November) recorded the highest number with 471 cases, compared to spring (357), summer (346), and winter (274).
The number of fall mountain accident cases by year was 360 in 2019, 527 in 2020, and 526 in 2021.
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