JOHOR BARU: Three hikers who were stranded near the Sungai Mas waterfalls at Tasik Biru Kangkar Pulai, were found exhausted about eight hours later yesterday.
Fire and Rescue Department commander Fairuz Helmi Mohd Ali said the men, aged 27, 28 and 35, had deviated from the planned route, and could not find their way out of the secondary forest due to fatigue.
The distress call was placed at 3.54pm, and the hikers were found at 12.30am, some eight hours later stranded by the hillside.
Fairuz Helmi said the search and rescue (SAR) operations involved 18 personnel from the department assisted by six forestry police officers and six 'malim gunung' (professional hikers and mountaineers) from the Malim Gunung Association.
The search teams were divided into three groups and they made their way from the staging area in separate directions until they located the victims.
The worn-out hikers who were not injured were handed to the police to have their statement recorded after they were given first aid treatment.