5 Hong Kong hikers rescued with help of police SOS mobile phone app in 2 months
- ‘HKSOS’ app was used to alert the force for the need for five countryside operations between January and February
- App uses patented technology developed by force and local firm Altai Technologies, allowing rescuers to detect location of phone even in locations without signal
The “HKSOS” app was used to alert the force to the need for five countryside rescue operations between January and February, with the hikers found as quickly as less than an hour after the plea for help was issued.
“Previously, [police reports for mountain rescue] were rather passive, requiring the victim or their families to make a call to the force,” said Mohammed Swalikh, senior superintendent of the force’s digital policing services bureau. “But now, the person will be telling us they have an outdoor activity, allowing us to protect citizens proactively.”
The app, launched in January, has been downloaded 57,002 times in two months. The app allows users to make a police report through a button on its interface, rather than over a phone call.
The fifth rescue involved a young man identified only as Chan, who sought help at Mai Fan Teng near Sharp Peak in Sai Kung last month.
Chan went on a hike after a friend’s recommendation, but the terrain proved to be much rougher than he could handle.
He had only finished a quarter of his intended route and was already reeling from abrasion wounds and heatstroke.
“I had thought of the ‘HKSOS’ app because if I had to call the police as per usual practice, I had to tell them my location, but it was quite foggy then,” he said. “I didn’t know how to describe where I was.”
