Seventeen-year-old Matthew Tsang, who went missing for a week and sparked a massive search in a Hong Kong country park, survived “solely by drinking stream water” and did not eat anything, his mother has said on Facebook.
“It’s God’s miracle that even though he didn’t eat, he still lives, ” Amy Chan said early Thursday, adding that her son is now in hospital and “his physical and mental conditions are stable.”
It was unclear why Tsang went missing. The mother said he was “lost and stuck in the woods. ” She told local media previously that her son had recently been experiencing academic pressure and stress.
Tsang, a student at Diocesan Boys’ School, was reported missing on Wednesday last week after leaving school at noon. He left his mobile phone at school, taking only a wallet and Octopus card with him.
According to police, the boy exited Shek Mun MTR station and was last seen at Siu Lek Yuen heading in the direction of the 29-square km Ma On Shan Country Park at around 2:30pm that day.
The rescue team found the boy in bushes near a stream on Wednesday afternoon. Chow Cheuk Fung, Station Commander of Sha Tin Fire Station, told media on Wednesday evening that Tsang was found conscious and not wearing any clothes.
He was given warm clothes and energy drinks at the scene and taken to hospital by helicopter.
Amy Chan said the boy had been “thoroughly soaked” by Typhoon Koinu last weekend and took off his wet clothes to avoid getting sick. He sheltered in the bushes from the rain and wind.
A joint force of Fire Services Department, Police, Civil Aid Service, alumni of Diocesan Boys’ School and several civilian rescue teams were deployed to search the country park.
Chow said searchers had used multiple methods including search and rescue dogs. They also took over 10,000 pictures of the park from drones and analysed them using artificial intelligence.
He said his department had deployed 28 fire trucks, nine ambulances, 112 firefighters and 24 paramedics, including a mountain rescue team, and finally narrowed down the search to places near bushes and streams.
Anson, founder of a civilian rescue team called The Hong Kong Guardians, told Ming Pao on Thursday that eight team members took part in the operation, searching overnight from around 9pm until 6am the next morning in addition to doing their day jobs.
Anson said many teammates had had to go to work immediately after their overnight search, adding he was happy that the boy was finally found.
Although parts of Hong Kong are densely developed, almost 40 per cent has been designated as country park. Hikers occasionally go missing in the rugged and mountainous terrain.
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