A woman known for hiking mountains wearing only a bikini has been found frozen to death in a national park. The Taiwanese named Gigi Wu, 36, who called herself ‘The Bikini Hiker’ when posting about her climbs on social media, had embarked on a solo hike through Yushan National Park.
More than a week after setting off, she called a friend on a satellite phone and said she had fallen down a ravine.
Black Hawk helicopters were scrambled to save her high, however poor weather conditions prevented them from taking off and Wu was found 28 hours later frozen to death.
In a message to be passed on to the Nantou fire service, Wu revealed she had stumbled more than 65 ft into a narrow gorge while trying to ascend Taiwan’s highest peak. Gigi Wu, 36, is known for hiking in bikinis and has a large social media following on Facebook and Instagram
Wu said she was trapped at the bottom and unable to move due to the injuries sustained during the fall.
The island’s National Airborne Service Corps said it attempted to dispatch Black Hawk rescue helicopters to her location on three separate occasions, but the flights were ultimately grounded due to poor weather conditions.
It finally decided to send in two search and rescue parties comprising three members each.
They found Wu’s body at the location of her distress beacon.
Rescuers say they are still waiting for stable weather in which to airlift Wu’s body out the narrow gully, with the search party having since set up camp near the site of the accident.