HART to the rescue – the squad that specialises in saving people from Hong Kong’s vertical terrain
When a climber falls from a cliff, the unit of uniquely trained fire services officers springs to action to save their life
Known the world over as the most vertical urban centre on Earth, Hong Kong has a surprisingly wild countryside. Off the trail in the Sai Kung Country Park, my machete can barely hack through the vines and thorny underbrush.
My wife, Esther, and I have been hiking for more than four hours along an overgrown riverbed on our way to climb the rocky west cliff of the famed Nam She Tsim, or Sharp Peak. Although only 468 metres high, its spiky silhouette dominates the park’s clear winter skyline.
We crawl through a wall of bush to reach the bottom of a cliff, one that has repelled us before. We are eager to organise our gear and start the climb, despite the ominous signs blocking the way: “Steep and treacherous footpath. Please don’t proceed!”
But proceed I do, the flaky volcanic rock crumbling under my fingers as I pull myself higher, metre by metre, until I can see the top of the cliff. “Almost there – one more move!” I shout to Esther, almost 15 metres below.
One moment my hand is firmly gripping the cliff face, the next it is holding a loose rock and I am in free fall. In climbing terms, I am “runout”, and the drop will be a long one. Enough for thoughts to spin. Instinctively I shout a warning to Esther, who is belaying me with the rope and the only person that can arrest my fall. She saves my life, but not before I experience a flash sequence of rock, grass, trees … Then an impact, a second impactand I am upside down on a rock.
Through the pain, I hear Esther screaming. “Paul! Paul! Are you OK? I thought you were dead!”