Post-mortem conducted on Czech tramper who died on Routeburn
"We don't have a policy on actually closing tracks."
Department of Conservation Wakatipu operations manager Geoff Owen
Police have confirmed a postmortem on the body of dead Czech tramper Ondrej Petr was conducted yesterday to determine his exact cause of death.
A police media spokeswoman said police investigations into the tragedy were complete and the matter was now in the hands of the Coroner.
A coronial national office spokesman said findings of the investigation would be available in the coming days.
Petr, 27, died after he slipped down a bank and became wedged between rocks and shrubbery in wintry conditions on the Routeburn Track on July 28.
His partner Pavlina Pizova tried desperately to free him but was unsuccessful. Pizova then survived a harrowing month-long ordeal in a warden’s hut near Lake MacKenzie following three freezing nights in the snow. She was rescued by police and a Land Search and Rescue team last Wednesday.
The Czech woman has been staying at the home of consul general for the Czech Republic Vladka Kennett near Glenorchy since she was rescued.
Despite the death, the Routeburn Track and others in the area were unlikely to close over winter, Department of Conservation Wakatipu operations manager Geoff Owen said.
However, closures might be discussed in an operational review of the incident, he said.
‘‘We’re in that sort of hard place because there will always be those that say we should do that [close the track].
‘‘Even in light of what’s happened, we probably wouldn’t.
‘‘We don’t have a policy on actually closing tracks.’’
It was about tramper responsibility and in Pizova and Petr’s case, ‘‘their first decision wasn’t a good one’’, Owen said.
The couple ventured onto the Routeburn track despite DOC advising them against it due to forecast snow. The pair also did not leave their intentions with anyone or carry a locator beacon.
‘‘We just look at it from the point of view, ‘is there anything different we could be doing?’, Owen said.