The company that manages the via ferrata apologized to visitors, admitting the error: “Due to our incorrect assessment of the number of customers who would arrive, the lack of effective traffic controls, customers were blocked and trapped along the climbing route”
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Earlier this week, a group of mountaineers climbing Mount Yandang, in eastern China, he remained stuck for more than an hour on a sheer wall, clinging to a rope along a climbing route. The reason? An unexpected influx of tourists which created a real queue on the mountain ridge. The hikers spent an hour in terror until rescuers intervened, clearing the traffic jam.
Images of the climbers hanging with the abyss beneath them as they waited for others to proceed along the via ferrata went viral on Chinese social media.
Wenzhou Dingcheng Sports Development Co., Ltd, which operates the via ferrata, later apologized and said it had underestimated the number of people interested in climbing the mountain.
What happened
Mount Yandang, on which the hikers were stranded for over an hour, is located about 410 kilometers south of Shanghai, in Zhejiang province, and is 1,150 meters high. It is a very attractive destination in itself for tourists, crowded especially during the holiday period. Like that of work, Labor Day, which occurs every year in China during the first week of May and this year too has contributed to increasing the number of visitors to the via ferrata.
The poor management of inflows, therefore, would then do the rest by creating the traffic jam that blocked dozens of mountain climbers hanging from the metal cable without being able to proceed forward or go back.
The hikers remained stuck there, unable to move, for over an hour until rescuers intervened and cleared the traffic jam.
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The statement from the managers
The company that manages the climbing route for tourists admitted the inconvenience and apologized for the incident. “Due to our misjudgment of the number of customers who would arrive, the lack of effective traffic controls, a ticket booking system and shortcomings in on-site management, customers were blocked and trapped along the climbing route “, reads a company statement.
The organization added that it will temporarily suspend ticket sales to reorganize the situation and implement a traffic control system for visitors.
