Search team spends 12 hours freeing woman stuck in tree

KUALA LUMPUR: The 28-year-old female hiker who fell 10m down a ravine at the infamous Bukit Tabur in Taman Melawati has been rescued.

Nearly 30 rescuers were mobilised to bring out Noor Hasmahani Hashim at 1.37am today.

She was sent to the Ampang Hospital immediately. 

Noor Hasmahani was believed to have been hiking alone before the 10am incident near checkpoint 11 of the Bukit Tabur trail yesterday.

Her fall was arrested by a tree sticking out from the ravine wall. 

Another female hiker who saw Noor Hasmahani, alerted the Fire and Rescue Department. 

Ampang Fire and Rescue Station operations officer Kaha Abdul Halim said it took rescuers almost two hours just to hike to the area where Noor Hasmahani was. 

“When we found her at about 1.10pm, she was stuck in a tree some 10m down the ravine,” he said at the entrance of the Bukit Tabur hiking trail yesterday. 

He added that the victim had hurt her back and her face during the fall. “She was still conscious when rescuers found her.” 

Due to the possibility of compounding her injuries, rescuers had to tread carefully. “It was difficult to lift her up the ravine as we were worried we might cause more injuries to her back,” he said, adding that the steep terrain and narrow trail also made it difficult for the rescue operation. 

Kaha said the rescuers from the Fire and Rescue Department and Civil Defence Department were tasked with bringing the victim safely out. 

During the operation, a rescue team member sustained a foot injury due to rockfall and another fell down and injured his knee. 

Last year, private school science teacher Ng Pee Tat, 32, died from severe injuries after he fell several metres down a steep slope there at 8pm on Dec 3. 

Previous fatalities at Bukit Tabur were reported in 2000, 2004 and in March, 2009, which involved two medical specialists who were both experienced trekkers.