Hikers from the Province of Chiriquí Suffering from Exhaustion in the Ngäbe-Buglé Region Rescued by SINAPROC
There are many expat hiking groups in the Boquete area of Chiriquí Province that will occasionally plan hikes outside of the district of Boquete. One of the most famous hikes in the region involved the Dutch Girls from Holland many years ago who never made it out. That story was covered by Newsroom Panama as well as on Boquete Chatter where this reporter and wife aired a number of radio shows heard around the world on Skype as part of the Overseas Radio Network. More on Boquete Chatter at the bottom of the new article.
SINAPROC just concluded an operation to assist hikers in Altos de Culebra in an area known to hikers as El Pianista. Four hikers suffered from exhaustion and dehydration. The National Civil Protection system (SINAPROC) reported that it has ended the search, tracking and assistance operation for several hikers who were hiking in the Altos de Culebra sector, in the Ngäbe-Buglé region. The organization explained that the journey began with eight people departing from the province of Chiriquí, bound for the Ngäbe-Buglé region.
During the trek, some members of the group began to show signs of physical exhaustion and dehydration. As part of coordinated efforts to ensure the safety of hikers, an air evacuation was carried out with the support of a private aircraft. The operation safely transported four hikers to Enrique Malek Airport in the province of Chiriquí. According to SINAPROC, among those evacuated were a Canadian citizen and a Panamanian citizen, who were suffering from physical exhaustion and injuries to their lower limbs as a result of the demanding journey. The rapid coordination between the institutions involved made it possible to provide timely care to those affected and avoid further complications. The rescue below on X.
Four Hikers Evacuated from the El Pianista Trail after More than 12 Hours of Rescue Operation
The alert was activated Thursday afternoon. Rescue teams hiked throughout the night to locate the group of eight people with health problems in the mountain range between Chiriquí and Bocas del Toro.
Four hikers were airlifted from the Culebra area to Enrique Malek Airport in David, Chiriquí, on Friday after experiencing health problems during an expedition on the El Pianista trail, which runs from the central mountain range to the province of Bocas del Toro. All four were immediately taken for medical treatment. The rescue operation took more than 12 hours and extended throughout the night and early morning.
The emergency was reported late Thursday afternoon when it was reported that eight hikers— five Costa Ricans and three foreigners—were experiencing health problems on the trail. Teams from the Joint Task Force immediately mobilized to the location, hiking for hours in the dark until they found the group, provided first aid, and assessed their condition. Of the eight people affected, four required air evacuation. The remaining four were treated at the scene.
The Civil Protection Warning
Mónica Acosta, director of the National Civil Protection System in Chiriquí, confirmed that the operation took more than 12 hours from the activation of the alert until the conclusion of the rescue. She took the opportunity to issue a direct warning to those who venture onto these types of routes. Acosta recommended that tour guides and national and foreign tourists “pay attention to safety measures to avoid this type of setback, which could lead to health problems if they do not have the proper conditions or equipment to carry out this type of excursion,” he said. The El Pianista trail is a physically demanding jungle route that connects the province of Chiriquí with Bocas del Toro through the Central Mountain Range, and has been the scene of previous emergencies caused by hikers without preparation or adequate equipment.
Boquete Chatter
“Boquete Chatter” was a popular radio program broadcast on the Overseas Radio Network via Skype in the 2010s and hosted by a retired broadcasting couple living in the expat haven of Boquete, Panama. It gained international notoriety for its live and recorded coverage of the 2014 disappearance of two Dutch tourists.
The Broadcast Focus
The hosts provided local updates, news, and insights into living in Panama. However, the show became widely known globally when the hosts dedicated segments to the search for Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon. They detailed the extensive search and rescue efforts, interviewed locals, and discussed the evolving theories surrounding the tragic case.
Current Status
- The Show: The “Boquete Chatter” broadcasts on the Overseas Radio Network are no longer active, as Skype’s legacy infrastructure has since transitioned to enterprise services like Microsoft Teams.
- Listenership: Archived episodes may occasionally surface on podcast directories (such as iTunes).
