KUCHING: Rescue teams are searching for an Australian woman who went missing while descending Mount Santubong, according to the Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department.
The Department said the case was reported at about 8.20pm on Thursday (April 23).
“The woman, identified as Belinda Lapier, had been hiking down from the summit when she was believed to have fallen in the F7 section of the trail,” it said.
The department said forest rangers made contact with her at about 5pm and searched her last known location. It said rescuers heard her voice in the F7 area but could not find her exact position.
“The search team returned to the forest hut at about 5.30pm before agencies launched a coordinated search and rescue operation later that night,” it said. It said the operation resumed in the early hours of Friday with a climbing team assigned to the F7 sector.
At 12.15 am, the operation commander reported that teams had not found Lapier in the area where they last made contact, the department said. It said teams then expanded the search to a nearby orchard area.
At about 12.48am, rescuers made contact with Lapier again, and she gave details of her location, the department said. It said five firefighters, five forest rangers and one police officer moved toward her position by an off-trail route because she was believed to have left the marked climbing path.
“Rescuers stayed in contact with her but faced difficult terrain, including large rocks and fallen trees, as well as darkness,” said the department. It said Lapier told rescuers at about 2am that she was safe but could not get out from her location on her own.
The department said teams kept trying to reach her, but poor access and low visibility slowed the effort. It said agencies suspended the operation at about 3.30am and planned to resume it at first light.
