Hong Kong police ‘HKSOS’ app for hikers downloaded 4,000 times before official launch, with 1 rescue mission also completed
- Police chief urges people to download app, noting the number of search and rescue cases in country parks has risen steadily in recent years
- A 32-year-old man used the ‘HKSOS’ app to ask for help in Sai Kung last Sunday
A new mobile phone app designed by Hong Kong police to help find hikers in trouble in the countryside has been downloaded more than 4,000 times in two weeks and played a part in a rescue mission.
Commissioner of Police Raymond Siu Chak-yee urged Hongkongers to download the “HKSOS” app at its official launch ceremony on Saturday, noting the number of search and rescue cases involving country parks had risen steadily over the past five years, with figures for related injuries increasing fourfold.
Siu said the “HKSOS” application could automatically notify emergency contacts and the 999 call centre if individuals were unable to report incidents themselves.
The app can also utilise the “Signal Radar” patented technology, enabling rescue personnel to accurately detect the location of a distressed individual’s mobile phone from a remote distance regardless of whether it has signal reception or not.
“The biggest challenge is to lock down the location of the person seeking help ... delaying by one minute means adding one more minute of risk,” Siu said.
Signal Radar is a patented search and rescue solution co-developed by the force and Altai Technologies, a local firm based in the Science Park.
Hong Kong police set to launch ‘HKSOS’ app to quickly pinpoint lost hikers
Senior Superintendent Swalikh Mohammed of the force’s digital policing services bureau said more than 4,000 downloads had been recorded in the two weeks since the app was made available, and one rescue mission had been successfully completed through it.
The case involved a 32-year-old man, who had downloaded the app before a hiking trip.
Hong Kong hiking expert tells trekkers to ‘listen to your body’
He felt dizzy in Sai Kung last Sunday and used the “HKSOS” app to ask for help, but there was a discrepancy between the location he described and his actual whereabouts. With the help of the app’s tracking feature, rescue personnel were able to accurately pinpoint his location and saved him in two hours.
For mobile phones with “HKSOS” installed, users can directly seek help within a 500-metre radius of emergency stations by activating the “SOS” button in the app.
Five such stations will cover mountainous areas of Sai Kung with two already in use.
