A Google Map screenshot of Mount Balatukan
CAGAYAN DE ORO—Three hikers were rescued on Tuesday, January 7, 2020, after being lost for three days on the 8,040-foot Mount Balatukan in Misamis Oriental.
Carlo Duga-duga, Misamis Oriental public information officer, said the three, whose identity he didn’t release, were part of a 10-man team from Nasipital town in Agusan del Norte who scaled Mount Balatukan on Friday, January 3, 2020.
“Along the way, the three hikers got separated from their team due to the foggy trail conditions,” Duga-duga said.
He said the lost hikers wandered through the 8,423-hectare Mount Balatucan Park area, unable to find their bearings or get a mobile phone signal.
Duga-duga said on Tuesday morning, the hikers met a resident who lived in the area where they got lost. It was the local who guided them to an area where mobile phone signal was available.
He said the hikers called their relatives, who then informed the Misamis Oriental Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management office.
Dugaduga said Misamis Oriental DRRM Officer Fernando Vincent Dy Jr., immediately deployed a Search and Rescue Team to extricate the lost hikers. The hikers were then brought to the Misamis Oriental Provincial Hospital in Claveria town for treatment.
The hikers were turned over to their families late Tuesday afternoon. /bmjo