IPOH: The elderly man who was reported missing while hiking at a hill in Puncak Jelapang has been found unconscious by two mountain guides.

       Lau Sam, 84, was found in a river at an altitude of 550m above sea level at 2.14pm Sunday (March 20).

       Operations commander Sabarodzi Nor Ahmad said, however, efforts to bring the man to safety may take up to seven hours owing to the difficulty in accessing the location.

       He said the rescue party was informed of the discovery by a mountain guide at 2.30pm.

       Nine members of the Malaysian Special Tactical Rescue Operations Team (Storm) and six members of the Meru Raya Fire and Rescue Station had been sent to the location to bring down the victim.

       "Based on preliminary information, the victim was found unconscious in the river.

       "Efforts to bring him down may take up to seven hours due to the geographical factors of the forest with narrow, steep and hilly paths," he said at the operations centre here.

       On Saturday (March 19), Lau Sam's distraught family offered a RM10,000 reward to anyone who found him.

       He had reportedly gone out with friends to hike up a hill near Puncak Jelapang here at 6.30pm on March 11.

       One of Lau Sam’s friends noticed he was missing at around 6.30pm the same day when he did not reach the foot of the hill with the others.