Trapped Rafter Says He Took the Risk Too Lightly and May Give Up Rafting

After spending days stranded on Nantou’s Zhuoshui River, one of the rescued rafters said he had taken the danger too lightly and might give up the sport.

The man, identified by his surname Liu, and another rafter surnamed Chen were the final two people rescued in the incident. An air force helicopter brought them to safety after Nantou firefighter Wu Cheng-jung died during rescue efforts.

Liu said the group became separated when floodwaters swept away their canoes. He and his companion could not swim to the opposite bank, leaving them stranded on a sandbar while they waited for help. “We were too careless,” Liu said, adding that he felt deeply sorry that someone had died. Nothing he could say could undo the tragedy, he said.

The rafters had no supplies during the days they were trapped. Although firefighters dropped provisions from the air, the packages landed in the woods and the men could not find them. They survived by drinking water from the river. Liu said he might not go rafting again.