Editorial | App promises safer path for Hong Kong’s hikers

Hiking is highly popular among Hongkongers, thanks to dozens of scenic and accessible country parks found across the city. Sadly, it was also becoming one of the most risky, if not deadly, activities, with more people taking to the trails unprepared during the pandemic. The trend continues despite the very hot and humid summer, making the experienced and the novice equally vulnerable.

The move by police to launch a new “HKSOS” mobile app to help rescue hikers is therefore timely. Linked to the 999 emergency hotline command and control centre, the app allows users to enter details of themselves and their hikes before setting off. The home-grown award-winning innovation sends out signals detectable by radar during life-saving missions, and is co-developed by the force and Altai Technologies, a firm on the city’s Science Park.

Unlike in the past when there was always a risk rescue operations might arrive too late, the app can save time and resources with officers being quickly alerted to requests for help. Delays are further reduced by them not having to dig out details of those who may be in trouble on the trails.

Accidents involving hikers have surged over the past three years, when social-distancing measures introduced during Covid-19 outbreaks drove many people to the wide open spaces of the city’s country parks. The number of hike-related searches climbed from less than 200 in 2019 to more than 1,000 in 2022. There were 12 deaths last year, compared with two in 2020, and the number of people injured rose from 125 in 2020 to 325 last year.

However, the mishaps continue and, on Sunday, a 33-year-old man was rescued after 18 hours following a fall at a 10-metre cliff near Skyline Path, Ma On Shan.