GEORGE TOWN: Handphones and a worried boyfriend played an integral part in the rescue of nine hikers who went missing on Penang Hill on Christmas Day.
In what was supposed to be a routine hike for the local hikers, aged between 24 and 61, as the group began to scale the hill at 8am on Tuesday from a point at Batu Ferringhi, which is part of the hill’s range.
They were supposed to return by 3pm, said a boyfriend of 24-year-old hiker Tan Kah Ooi, who related her ordeal to theSun.
“When there was no call at 3pm, I suspected something was amiss. At 7pm, I received a distress call from my girlfriend telling me that the group was lost.”
The boyfriend, who only wanted to be identified as Wong, called up the police, the Fire and Rescue Department, the federal reserve force (Rela) and even his local councillors.
He prompted the authorities to swing into action where an elite team of firemen was formed from two stations at Perak Road and Bagan Jermal.
They were deployed to the area at 7.30pm and with the help of Wong, they managed to zero in on where the hikers went missing.
The group was brought down in stages and the rescue operation was completed by 5am today.
