Two people stranded in a mountain forest reportedly ignored rescuers because of a traditional belief that responding to unfamiliar voices in the mountains could bring bad luck.
BEIJING: Two people who became stranded in a mountainous forest in China reportedly refused to respond to rescue teams because they feared the voices calling out to them might belong to mountain spirits.
Police and firefighters in Huairou district received a call on the night of July 29 about a 73-year-old man and a 58-year-old woman who had gone missing while searching for medicinal herbs in a mountainous area.
The two, who were from a nearby village and frequently collected herbs together, had no mobile phones with them because there was reportedly no signal in the area. They also had no food or water, according to the report.
Rescue teams searched the mountainous terrain throughout the night and eventually located the pair after 17 hours. By then, they had reportedly been stranded for around 30 hours and were severely exhausted.
However, rescuers were surprised to learn that the pair had heard their calls much earlier but deliberately chose not to respond.
Fear of Mountain Spirits Delayed Rescue
The two reportedly told rescuers that they believed people should not respond after hearing their names called in the mountains.
According to Chinese folklore, mountain spirits are believed to imitate the voices of familiar people and call out to those who become lost. Responding to such voices is traditionally believed to put lost people in greater danger.
Because of this belief, the pair reportedly moved in the opposite direction after hearing the rescue teams calling for them, making the search considerably more difficult.
They eventually responded when the rescue teams reached a lower section of the mountain, allowing rescuers to locate them and bring them to safety.
The unusual incident has highlighted how traditional beliefs and fear can influence decisions during emergencies, when responding promptly to genuine rescue calls can be critical.
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