YESTERDAY'S daring airlift to safety of the two Hong Kong soldiers and a British officer trapped in Low's Gully brought sighs of relief that went far beyond the territory. For the dramatic two-week search for the five men trapped in the Sabah jungle attracted worldwide attention, as Britain, Hong Kong and Malaysia joined together in an international hunt for them.
The heroism of those who risked their lives to save others will not be easily forgotten: especially the tremendous bravery of the Sea King helicopter crew who swooped down into the treacherous gully to winch the three up from the jungle-covered ledge that had been their home for the last three weeks.
Friday's rescue of expedition leader Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Neill and the other Hong Kong servicemen on the ill-fated aborted expedition was no less daring, as they were pulled to safety with the help of the SAS, despite encroaching clouds that limited the helicopter team's visibility.
Today will be a day of rejoicing as all five are reunited with families who feared the worse. No one will begrudge them an emotional reunion or the necessary breathing space to recover from their ordeal.
But that will not stop questions being asked about what went wrong. The British military inquiry that has been promised must make a thorough examination of the ill-fated expedition to determine how a group of well-trained soldiers went so badly astray that they required such an immense international rescue effort to locate them. Why, for instance, did they not carry flares or radios, equipment which could have immeasurably aided the rescue process? One area the inquiry should not overlook, however delicate, is the role of the expedition's team leader who had already made two failed attempts to conquer the treacherous descent into Low's Gully. Had due caution been paid to the dangers facing the other expedition members during the planning phase and were they all of sufficient experience or fitness to be up to the task? Perhaps such concern is misplaced. That will be up to the military inquiry to determine. When the investigation is completed, and this could take several months, the results should be made public so that lessons can be learned from the expedition that almost went so terribly wrong.