Large-scale search at Lion Rock for missing 70-year-old man

The Lion Rock Country Park, a popular hiking destination in Hong Kong. Photo: Chong Fat/Wiki Commons
The Lion Rock Country Park, a popular hiking destination in Hong Kong. Photo: Chong Fat/Wiki Commons

A rescue team is searching for a 70-year-old man who has been missing on Sha Tin’s Lion Rock peak since going on a hike yesterday afternoon.

The man, surnamed Lau, left home yesterday at 2pm to start a hike from Hung Mui Kuk in Tai Wai, planning to reach Wong Tai Sin over the mountain. However, HK01 reports, at about 10pm, Lau called his wife, saying he had lost his way while going down the hill.

A team of firefighters and police officers along with medical workers and Civil Aid Service employees subsequently began their search from the Hung Mui Kuk Barbeque Area while talking to Lau on the phone, despite the fact that he was not able to identify his own location. The Government Flying Service also deployed at least two helicopters to search above the area, according to neighborhood residents posting on Facebook.

The team lost contact with Lau by 2am, possibly because his cell phone had run out of battery. By that time, the rescue team has expanded its search area significantly to Tsuen Wan’s Shing Mun Reservoir and St. Raphael’s Catholic Cemetery in Lai Chi Kok, hoping to track down the missing elderly man.

Lau’s son told Oriental Daily that his retired father went hiking almost every day along the same route and had never lost his way before.

After more than 12 hours of searching, rescue workers have yet to locate Lau. The flying service’s helicopters, at 11am this morning, decided to move their search area to the nearby Kam Shan Country Park The team on the ground, meanwhile, expanded the area to Po Fook Hill in Sha Tin. Lau’s final mobile signal appeared at Piper’s Hill near Cheung Sha Wan.

The article will be updated as the search is ongoing.



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