Hong Kong police found the body of a solo hiker on a Sai Kung hillside on Saturday night after almost a day of searching.

The 29-year-old man had set off from his home in Tin Shui Wai to go hiking alone in Sai Kung, with his family losing contact around 10pm on Friday, police said. His family had also appealed on social media for any information on his whereabouts.

Police, fire services and a government aircraft had been searching Sai Kung’s Pak Lap Wan area, where some personal belongings were reported to have been found at a cliff on Saturday morning. The force said it was unclear if he had taken his own life.

He had been wearing white sports shoes, black trousers and a green jacket when he left for Sai Kung, a popular spot for hiking.

Separately, police received a call for help from three hikers on the MacLehose Trail Section 10 at Castle Peak at around 6.15pm.

One of the trio was injured along the trail and a rescue team was on the way, police said.

The number of mountain rescues almost tripled from 215 in 2019 to 602 last year. This year, as of October, there have been 810 rescues, according to the Fire Services Department. The number of injury cases surged from 121 in 2019 to 322 last year and 500 as of October.

A total of 891 search and rescue operations have been carried out this year, according to Government Flying Service data.

Of the rescue missions, 42 per cent were medical-related including for heatstroke reports, 30 per cent involved injury cases, 24 per cent were aerial searches for hikers who had got lost or were missing, and 4 per cent were for drownings.