Five missing hikers find their way to safety

JERTIH: Five men reported missing on Gunung Tebu in Jabi since Thursday managed to find their way out of the dense jungle by following a river.

The group was discovered by rescuers at a recreational area nearby at 9.15am yesterday.

Besut deputy police chief Deputy Supt Azrol Anuar Nor said all five men, aged between 23 and 39, were found after they managed to trek out of the forest to the Lata Belatan waterfall near the foot of the mountain in Terengganu.

He said yesterday’s search and rescue operations had continued at 8am, undertaken by a team of 55 members of the police, Fire and Rescue Department, and the Civil Defence Force, adding that another nine mountain guides also joined in the search.

“All five were sent to Hospital Besut, with one of them sustaining a leg injury,” he told Bernama.

One of the hikers from Bukit Tunggal, Kuala Terengganu, who declined to be identified, said they arrived at the recreational area at 11.30am on Thursday before trying to climb Gunung Tebu.

“However, it started raining heavily at 4.30pm. We decided to head down but we got lost.

“We tried to find our way out but failed, and so had to spend the night near a waterfall. This (yesterday) morning, we followed a river which led us to the recreational spot,” he said.