Two Singaporean men who got lost while hiking up a mountain in Malaysia’s Langkawi island are now safe and sound after being rescued.
In a Facebook post, the Padang Matsirat fire brigade said the entire operation lasted from 10.30pm on Sunday (29 Dec) to 5am the next day.
The two men started climbing Mount Mat Cincang, Langkawi’s second-highest peak, at 12 noon, the fire brigade said in a statement quoted by The Star.
They were identified by the New Straits Times as Wang Cheng Kang, 23, and Li Shuen Qi, 25.
The duo are believed to have gotten lost as darkness fell, the fire brigade added.
The fire brigade received a call for assistance at 10.28pm
12 officers and personnel from the Padang Matsirat and Langkawi teams arrived at the location about 20 minutes later.
They started searching for the duo at 12.02am, beginning from the hikers’ last-known location.
The Singaporeans were eventually found at 2.48am, less than three hours after the search began.
They were brought down to the foot of the mountain at 4.36am and handed over to the police for further action.
Mr Shaiful Asraf, founder of tour planners Kembara Langkawi, told The Straits Times that the two men were found asleep close to the trekking path.
They were unhurt, but suffered minor muscle cramps.
Mr Shaiful said that they did not bring equipment such as headlamps or lights, so they might have lost their bearings in the dark.
Mount Mat Cincang typically takes six to seven hours to climb and descend, he added.
He advised hikers to engage a guide when scaling Langkawi’s peaks, especially if they are beginners.
Also read: 3 S’poreans among 4 men rescued after getting lost in M’sia’s Apek Hill
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Featured image adapted from Bomba Padang Matsirat on Facebook.
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