Australian Man Trapped in Cliff Cave; Rescuers Make Contact and Plan Evacuation
In the Coastal Mountain Range of Taitung County, the fire department is working to rescue an Australian man trapped in a cliff cave. On the afternoon of the 14th, the search team made contact with the man and are now planning the evacuation.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 14, 2026 at 13:42
- 🔍 Collected: May 14, 2026 at 14:02 (19 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 14, 2026 at 16:38 (2h 36m after Collected)
Central News Agency, Taitung, Reporter Lu Tai-cheng, 14th — The Taitung County Fire Department, in its rescue of an Australian man trapped in a cave on a cliff in the Coastal Mountain Range, reported good news at noon today. Rescue personnel have made contact with the man and are formulating an evacuation plan this afternoon.
Lai Yuan-chih, deputy chief of the Chenggong Brigade of the Taitung County Fire Department, reported back to the fire department at noon today that rescue personnel had made contact with the Australian man and are currently devising a related evacuation plan.
Matthew, an Australian man in his 50s, went missing after allegedly arguing with his wife. Friends and family could not find him. Because he had previously hiked many times in the mountains behind the tribe in the Xinxiaoma section and enjoys surfing and is very fit, they started searching for him in the mountains. Sure enough, his scooter was found parked at the foot of the mountain, so they requested assistance from the fire department.
The Taitung County Fire Department set up a forward command post and went up the mountain for search and rescue after receiving the report on the night of the 11th. On the morning of the 12th, a rescue team went up the mountain to search and, with the help of a drone, clearly captured footage of the foreign man in a cave on a steep cliff. He was able to walk and was conscious, but the cave is located on a V-shaped cliff, where one can go down but not come up.
After contacting the National Airborne Service Corps for an assessment, it was determined that helicopter hoisting was temporarily not feasible due to fog and the treacherous terrain. Therefore, the fire department mobilized two search and rescue teams yesterday to advance via different routes. By yesterday evening, they were 200 meters away from the man awaiting rescue, but the search was temporarily halted due to worsening weather, considering the man was not in immediate danger. The advance resumed early this morning, and by noon, they had made contact with the trapped man. (Editing: Chang Ya-ching) 1150514
Lai Yuan-chih, deputy chief of the Chenggong Brigade of the Taitung County Fire Department, reported back to the fire department at noon today that rescue personnel had made contact with the Australian man and are currently devising a related evacuation plan.
Matthew, an Australian man in his 50s, went missing after allegedly arguing with his wife. Friends and family could not find him. Because he had previously hiked many times in the mountains behind the tribe in the Xinxiaoma section and enjoys surfing and is very fit, they started searching for him in the mountains. Sure enough, his scooter was found parked at the foot of the mountain, so they requested assistance from the fire department.
The Taitung County Fire Department set up a forward command post and went up the mountain for search and rescue after receiving the report on the night of the 11th. On the morning of the 12th, a rescue team went up the mountain to search and, with the help of a drone, clearly captured footage of the foreign man in a cave on a steep cliff. He was able to walk and was conscious, but the cave is located on a V-shaped cliff, where one can go down but not come up.
After contacting the National Airborne Service Corps for an assessment, it was determined that helicopter hoisting was temporarily not feasible due to fog and the treacherous terrain. Therefore, the fire department mobilized two search and rescue teams yesterday to advance via different routes. By yesterday evening, they were 200 meters away from the man awaiting rescue, but the search was temporarily halted due to worsening weather, considering the man was not in immediate danger. The advance resumed early this morning, and by noon, they had made contact with the trapped man. (Editing: Chang Ya-ching) 1150514