A hiking trip in Taiwan turned deadly after three experienced group leaders were swarmed by hornets in a remote nature reserve — grim news that has triggered a difficult mountain rescue.

• Three veteran leaders entered the Lanren Creek area of Manzhou, Pingtung, to scout a route and were badly stung by hornets; two men lost vital signs and one woman was hurt.
• Rescuers reached the injured woman and are carrying her out in shifts, but steep terrain and heavy thunderstorms mean it could take several hours.
• Only one of the two dead men has been found; the second man's location is unknown and the search for him is paused until the weather clears in the morning.
• The group was highly experienced — one of the men had led a regional mountain-rescue committee — so this was bad luck, not a hard route, made worse by having no phone signal to call for help.
• The trip went off the approved plan: they entered the protected reserve early on the 12th without a fresh permit, straying from the sanctioned route through undeveloped, dangerous ground.

Outlook: Recovery of the second man and the woman's evacuation hinge on better weather, expected to improve by morning.