Helicopter Rescue Difficult Due to Sunset and Strong Winds
Fire Authorities Shelter Together Overnight and Conduct Helicopter Rescue the Next Day
When rescuers were unable to evacuate a hiker who injured their waist on Bukhansan Mountain due to worsening weather conditions, 119 paramedics spent the night together on the mountainside and successfully rescued them the next day.
On the 21st, Yonhap News reported, citing the Gyeonggi Northern Fire and Disaster Headquarters, that at around 5:10 p.m. on the 20th, a 119 emergency call was received reporting that some members of a mountaineering club near Yeomcho 1 Peak in Deogyang-gu, Goyang-si, Bukhansan Mountain, were injured and needed rescue. A 60-year-old female member, A, injured her waist after falling on a slope while descending, and a 60-year-old male member, B, from the same club was also having difficulty descending due to fatigue.
Rescue team members camping overnight with hikers stranded on Bukhansan Mountain [Photo by Yonhap News]
The paramedics and rescue workers who responded to the call began climbing from the Borisa point on Bukhansan Mountain at 6:06 p.m. and found them about 50 minutes later. However, the rescue conditions were extremely unfavorable. Due to sunset and strong winds, a rescue helicopter could not be dispatched, and A had injuries to her waist and neck, making it dangerous to carry her down. In particular, the location of their rescue request was a steep 300-meter rock face section, and the ground was wet with dew, making nighttime rescue even more difficult.
Ultimately, the fire authorities judged that nighttime rescue was impossible and decided to spend the night 'bivouacking' with them and rescue them at sunrise the next day. Of the six club members, four, excluding A and B, descended first with the help of the 119 personnel in the dark. The fire authorities deployed additional rescue teams equipped with thermal gear to provide warmth to A and the others. The rescuers took turns moving between nearby posts, relying on padding and other thermal equipment to spend the night with the rescued individuals.
That night, the temperature on Bukhansan dropped to 9 degrees Celsius. The accident site was in the so-called 'ridge section' (a section where one must climb over high rocks), where the wind was strong, making the actual perceived temperature much lower.
The rescue helicopter departed shortly after sunrise on the 21st and arrived at the site around 6:40 a.m. A and B were safely rescued and transferred to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Meanwhile, according to the Fire Agency, from 2021 to last year, there were a total of 33,236 mountain accident rescues nationwide over the past three years, with 25% concentrated in the two months of September and October. The Fire Agency urged adherence to hiking safety rules, stating, "Since the temperature difference is large in autumn, it is essential to check weather information before hiking and choose a hiking course suitable for your physical condition so that you can descend before sunset."
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