TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A hiker was fatally struck by falling rocks near the Yushan Trailhead in central Taiwan on Monday (May 29).

At 3:19 p.m. on Monday, the Chiayi County Fire Department received a report from the Nantou County Fire Department that a mountain climber had been hit in the head by falling rocks about 0.5 km from the Yushan Trailhead in Alishan Township, reported CNA. When firefighters arrived at the scene at 4:11 p.m., a 60-year-old man surnamed Huang (黃) was found to have suffered an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA).

The firefighters immediately conducted CPR and worked together to carry Huang on a stretcher to the nearest road, where an ambulance rushed him to the nearest clinic. However, doctors were unable to resuscitate Huang and he was declared dead.

The Chiayi County Fire Department said Huang had hiked Yushan with his friends. It was when he was headed on the downhill section that a rockfall occurred and a rock struck him in the head, inflicting fatal head trauma.

This marks the fourth death of a mountain climber in the Alishan area within a little more than a month. Authorities urged the public to exercise caution when hiking mountain trails, closely monitor weather conditions before setting out and beware of dangerous situations such as sudden rockfalls.