Trampers saved Australian

A distress beacon and the actions of a group of trampers have saved the life of an Australian.

The Australian man activated his distress beacon after coming into bad weather and rugged terrain in the Tararua Ranges, north of Wellington, at 6pm on Sunday.

The man, who was tramping with a friend, activated his beacon near Kime Hut.

Rescue Co-ordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) dispatched a Wellington Life Flight helicopter but low cloud and difficult flying conditions in the mountains prevented it getting near the hut, RCCNZ senior search and rescue officer Mike Roberts said.

The helicopter landed the searchand-rescue team as close as it could but that still left them with a sevenhour tramp through the night to reach the man.

Meanwhile, the man had managed to stagger to a hut where, by chance, there was already a group of five other trampers.

“They warmed him and fed him, helping his body temperature stabilise until a LandSAR team arrived at about 3am,” Roberts said.

A LandSAR team eventually got to the severely hypothermic man yesterday morning. They said the trampers who helped the man had saved his life.

The man was helped to Field Hut yesterday morning where he was picked up by a Philips Search and Rescue Trust helicopter from Palmerston North.

A second LandSAR team was not needed. The man was flown to Palmerston North for treatment and is understood to be recovering well.