BARLIG, MOUNTAIN PROVINCE– The Korean tourist, Sung Kyu Choi, 56,who got lost here when he planned to walk through the mountains to reach the rice terraces of Batad, Banaue, Ifugao was found alive Tuesday morning, June 20, in a rice granary in Latang village, this town. He survived 11 days in the mountains without sufficient food and water.
He arrived in Barlig on June 7 and checked into an inn but went out around 9 a.m. on June 9, and was last seen hiking towards Batad in Banaue, Ifugao by Miguel Lagkio, a resident of Sitio Chator, Barangay Latang. Police contacted Choi’s cellphone upon learning that he had not returned and the Korean answered at 5:30 p.m. of June 13 that he was lost, weak, and surrounded by pine trees. The next day, the Embassy of South Korea said they received information that Choi was at an area with big rocks but when rescuers reached the place, he was not there.
Thus a massive search started. Teams from the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management, Barlig Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management, local tourist guides, hunters, Philippine National Police personnel including those from Mayoyao and Banaue, Ifugao, and other responders were deployed.
Choi was found sheltered in a rice granary owned by Joselito Tukyap, a local and a member-responder of the Barlig Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (MDRRMO), in a mossy and thickly forested part of this town. Across the rugged mountain terrain, he was brought to the Barlig District Hospital for medical treatment. According to Dr. Gina Buyocan, Chief of Barlig District Hospital, his condition was stabilized and was later brought to Bontoc.
“Mr. Choi is now reunited with his family, with the Korean embassy consul and other staff, friends and other Korean volunteers who have been giving physical as well as moral support during the 7-day operation,” the Mountain Province Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council said in a statement. It also lauded the efforts and sacrifices of all those who participated in the seach.**
