The Penang fire and rescue department said the man, Teh Seng Keat, was found to be physically injured and exhausted.

“He was brought up using a stretcher and sent for treatment,” the department said in a statement.

Teh’s daughter said in a Facebook post that her father had been missing since 5.30pm yesterday after he left a relative’s house in Batu Lanchang and did not return home.

He had phoned her mother this morning and said that his car fell into a ditch but he could not find his way back.

The family tried to track him down using his mobile phone and was eventually told that a signal from his device was found around Jalan Baru in Balik Pulau.

His car was spotted at around 3.30pm today but he was nowhere to be seen. The Penang fire and rescue department said it received information about a car that had veered off a road at Bukit Titi Serong, Balik Pulau, and fallen down a slope.

The man was rescued at about 5pm. Teh’s daughter said her father was semi-conscious in the hospital.