Fire Agency to Implement 'Mountain Accident Safety Measures' from April... 'Safety Guardians' Assigned to Accident-Prone Hiking Trails

Last Year, 11,952 Cases and 8,313 People Rescued... Lost and Distress Accidents Most Frequent

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The National Fire Agency announced on the 24th that it will implement a ‘Mountain Accident Safety Plan’ starting in April to prevent safety accidents among hikers and ensure prompt rescue operations as the hiking population increases with the warming weather in spring.

According to the National Fire Agency, the number of mountain accidents last year was 11,952, an increase of 2,062 cases (20.84%) compared to the average of the previous three years (2018?2020), and the number of people rescued also increased by 1,554 (22.99%). Mountain accidents increased from April, the spring season, and occurred most frequently in the fall (September to October), with weekends accounting for 50.8% of cases by day of the week. The leading causes were getting lost with 3,203 cases (26.8%), slips and falls with 2,769 cases (23.2%), personal illnesses with 967 cases (8.18%), and exhaustion/dehydration with 788 cases (6.6%).

The National Fire Agency will first select hiking trails where many mountain accidents have occurred over the past three years and operate ‘Mountain Safety Keepers’ at the trail entrances. The ‘Mountain Safety Keepers,’ composed of firefighters with mountain rescue capabilities, volunteer firefighters, and civilian volunteers, will prevent accidents through promoting hiking safety rules and patrolling, and will carry out prompt rescue operations upon receiving accident reports.

In addition, the agency will inspect and maintain 14,817 safety facilities installed on major hiking trails nationwide, and in cooperation with local governments, reinforce safety facilities such as railings in areas with frequent mountain accidents. The ‘119 On-site Support Mobile System,’ which allows dispatched rescue teams to directly check the location information of the reporter’s smartphone, will be operated, and drones equipped with optical and thermal imaging cameras will be immediately deployed for rapid search and rescue.

Especially this year, a ‘Mountain Safety Map’ indicating hiking trail locations, hazardous areas, and location signboards will be produced and distributed for major hiking trails so that hikers can easily check safety information. The map will be placed in ‘Simple Rescue First Aid Kits’ along with an information pattern (QR code) attached.

Kim Hak-geun, head of the Rescue Division, said, “As the population visiting mountains increases due to the spread of non-face-to-face leisure activities caused by COVID-19, to prevent safety accidents, hikers should choose courses suitable for their physical condition and follow hiking safety rules,” and added, “We ask for interest and support for the ‘Mountain Safety Keepers’ recruited by each fire station.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.