CAMERON HIGHLANDS: Two Australian hikers, who lost their way while hiking on Gunung Brinchang, were found safe last night.

The victims, identified as Adam Zhi Qiang, 25 and Mercieca Alice Shirley, 25, were found near a stream by the Fire and Rescue Department personnel at about 8pm.

Cameron Highlands fire station chief Mohd Haziq Hazmi said the duo were believed to have gotten lost after they strayed from the hiking trails at 5.30pm.

“We believed the couple had lost their way while descending from the mountain,” he said.

Mohd Haziq said the department received a call informing on the incident at 5.40pm, before two teams were dispatched to search for them.

“We initiated a search-and-rescue (SAR) operation with one of the teams focused on searching at the foot of the mountain and one kilometre away from the location where the victims were believed to have lost their way.

However, the victims were not found.

“The second team covered a wider area, which is two-kilometre away from the original trails.

They then found the couple near a stream,” he said.

The victims were then sent to their nearby lodgings before midnight.-nst