Photos spotting Tsang belatedly discovered as some questions remain

A drone apparently spotted Matthew Tsang a day before he was rescued, but the photos were not discovered until after he was found by firefighters, an aerial photographer said.

Land surveyor Thomas Lee Wai-pang said he was requested by the Countryside Volunteer Search Team to take more than 1,000 drone photos at Lo Shue Tin Hang on Tuesday afternoon. But he did not check each photo due to time constraints.

After Tsang was found on Wednesday, Lee examined the cache and found around 10 photos showing Tsang naked in the woods alone.

Emergency doctor Chung Ho-yin from Queen Mary Hospital said a person could survive on only water for four weeks at most. People cannot survive more than four days without water, he added.

Chung said it was dangerous that Tsang did not wear any clothes in the mountains as he could have suffered hypothermia. There was also the risk of heatstroke during the day.

Some hiking experts suspected someone had provided food to Tsang.

Hiking expert Conway Leung Nim-ho said that few fruits can be found on the mountain and many mushrooms are poisonous, adding Tsang could have sought help from others as he could have easily found a village or a road nearby.

"Since the boy could reach the location along the stream, he could also find his way out following the stream," Leung said. "There were heavy rains and thunderstorms ... and he had no food. How could he have survived?"

Another expert, Chung Kin-man, suspected Tsang could have gone somewhere else before returning to the mountain. He said mountains in Hong Kong are almost fully developed and signs have been put up along roads, adding that Tsang could find houses or passersby after walking for two to three hours.

But assistant divisional officer Chow Cheuk-fung of the Fire Services Department said Tsang could not find a way out as the mountain was rugged and surrounded by two-meter-high bushes.

"There were thick bushes with trees blocking the roads. Even our colleagues had to use tools to clear a path," Chow said. "At the location where Tsang was found, the bushes would block his sight so it was difficult for him to find out his own location."

Founder of HK Discovery Jan Chan Ka-chun said people missing in the woods should stay put in a safe area and avoid wandering.

Education expert Szeto Hon-ming, meanwhile, said parents need to understand that academic results are only one part of children's growth and that there will be setbacks.

"Parents should ... let children understand that it is fine if they ... [did] their best. Even if they get poor result in the DSE examinations, so what? As long as they find their stage, they can still shine."