Duo lost while hiking Mount Matang found safe

KUCHING (Jan 3): The two tourists who went missing while hiking along a temple trail on Mount Matang here last night have been found safe around 2.57pm.

In a statement, Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) said the victims – Malaysian Ahmad Mohd Rozlan, 28, and Canadian Lo Hok Man, 37, were found some 450 metres from their temporary command post.

“Both were successfully brought out of the jungles and sent to the Sarawak General Hospital by the police for a medical check-up,” said Bomba in a statement.

The duo had gotten lost in the jungle around 7.38pm last night after one of them contacted Bomba for assistance as well as sending their last known location via WhatsApp.

A team of rescuers from the Petra Jaya station arrived at the specified location at 9.40pm. However, both victims were nowhere to be found.

Bomba said they managed to contact the victims at around 10pm, and were informed that they did not sustain any injuries and would soon be uncontactable due to low battery on their phones.

The search, which was also joined by the local villagers including a local guide, had to be called off at 11.50pm due to poor visibility and heavy rain before resuming at 8.30am this morning.