During the National Day holiday, more than 200 hiking enthusiasts formed a group and set out from the mountains of Gansu. While trekking through the Qilian Mountains at the Longqing Ridge area, they encountered heavy snowfall and became stranded in the Tiger Gorge area of Menyuan County, Haibei Prefecture, Qinghai Province. As of 6:00 p.m. on the 6th, 213 people have been rescued, with one person confirmed dead.
According to eyewitness Ms. Liu, who experienced the situation at Longqing Ridge on October 6th, she and her group entered the area on the 2nd and attempted to leave on the 5th. However, heavy snow began falling in the early hours of the 5th, making it extremely cold. She mentioned, “It was super cold, even wearing two down jackets, a waterproof jacket, and a wool sweater, we were shivering outside the tent.”
The Tiger Gorge area has an average altitude of over 4000 meters, and with the complex terrain and continuous snowfall, Liu said that despite their hiking experience, steep slopes and river crossings made walking difficult. There were even reports of hikers spotting wolves during their journey. Upon their descent, she and her group met up with rescuers and were transported to Menyuan Bus Station.
According to a report by state media CCTV News, some of the rescued individuals revealed that this hiking trip was initiated online by hiking enthusiasts and tourists who voluntarily organized the trek through Longqing Ridge, which is not a commercial hiking route.
By 6:00 p.m. on October 6th, 213 people had been rescued, but unfortunately, one person had succumbed to hypothermia and altitude sickness on October 5th.
In addition, the eastern base camp of Mount Everest in Tibet recently experienced heavy snowfall, with nearly a thousand people temporarily stranded at an altitude of over 4900 meters. As of now, 350 hikers have safely reached the designated reception point, while contact has been established with the remaining 200 or so individuals.