Police rescue operation ‘hopeless’

A man who helped rescue stranded 4WD enthusiasts trapped in snowbound Central Otago back country has blasted the police’s ‘‘hopeless’’ operation.

His elderly friend, who waited all night for the police go-ahead to drive to the stranded people, had a heart attack afterwards.

Reagan Tickle, a farm manager, and Snowcat owner Ralph Moyle helped rescue the 38 people in blizzard-like conditions on Monday.

Two groups, from Invercargill and Winton, had spent about 20 hours trapped in snow one to two metres deep near Roxburgh.

Tickle said the police operation was ‘‘hopeless’’ – to the point the police put more lives at risk. Moyle, who is in his 70s, is recovering in Dunedin Hospital after collapsing during the postrescue police debrief.

Police said it would have a formal debrief on the operation, which would cover the decisions and resources used.

‘‘There are always lessons to be learnt from operations such as this,’’ a spokesman said.

Police contacted Moyle about midnight on Sunday to help in the rescue. He immediately made his way to Tickle’s farm, where the Snowcats were based for recreational use, Tickle said.

‘‘We spent all night servicing them, getting them going and they were ready about 5.30am . . . We could have been away by 6am and back by 10am, but we had no communication with them. ‘‘Not one cop came to see us.’’ Tickle and Moyle, driving two Snowcats with the rescuers on board, made a seven-hour round trip to rescue the group.

‘‘They probably spent $500,000 on the rescue and if they let us go when we wanted to we could have done it on 40 litres of diesel.’’