Six mountain climbers who got lost while trekking through Mt. Talinis in Valencia, Negros Oriental, were rescued by police and civilian search-and-rescue groups yesterday afternoon in Sitio Caipuhan, Barangay Apolong of the town.

The hikers were identified as Charles Salon, 22 year old; Antonieto Opelario, 21; Franz Emmanuel “Karl” Consing, 32; Mark Anthony Omega, 21; Jimmy Lumawag, 30; and Michael Whelan, 18.

The Philippine National Police received at around 1 a.m. Friday a call about the failure of the group, initially reported to have seven members, to return to Dumaguete on Thursday afternoon.

Members of the Valencia PNP station, the Negros Oriental PNP Office, and the Valencia Emergency Rescue Team (VERT) were the first to reach  and rescue the trekkers trapped by rising waters and thick fog from the Caipuhan sulphuric river.

They were brought to the Valencia police station around 5 p.m. Friday and were seemingly in good shape despite their experience.

Mt. Talinis, also known as Cuernos de Negros (Horns of Negros), is a strato-volcano about 5,900 feet above sea level and is a favorite destination for local and foreign mountaineers and nature trail trekkers.

A group of local mountaineers, headed by Ryan Equio, also left early Friday morning to search for the stranded trekkers, while another group from the Negros Oriental Search and Rescue, headed by Alejandro Somoza, Sr., also joined the search while Dwight Maxino, resident manager of the Energy Development Corporatio-Southern Negros Geothermal Production Field, also mobilized their Emergency Rescue Team to help in the search.

Tiongson said the governor thanked those who offered their time and services to look for the stranded mountain climbers.*JFP

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