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CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (MindaNews/06 January) – Three mountaineers walked through a lush mossy forest to safety on Tuesday, three days after getting lost on the 8,040-foot Mount Balatukan in Misamis Oriental.
Carlo Duga-duga, Misamis Oriental public information officer said the three were part of a 10-man team from Nasipital town, Agusan del Norte that scaled Mount Balatukan last Friday.
“Along the way, the three hikers got separated from their team due to the foggy trail conditions,” Duga-duga said.
He said the three wandered in the 8,423-hectare mountain without a mobile phone signal and unable to know their location.
Duga-duga said that on Tuesday morning the mountaineers met a local resident who guided them to an area where a mobile phone signal available.
He said the three called their relatives who then informed the Misamis Oriental Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.
He said Provincial DRRM Officer Fernando Vincent Dy Jr. immediately deployed a search and rescue team to extricate the lost mountaineers.
He said they were later brought to the Misamis Oriental Provincial Hospital in Claveria town for treatment.
The hikers were turned over to their families late Tuesday afternoon.
Duga-duga did not release the identities of the hikers. (Froilan Gallardo/MindaNews)