SAR urge use of emergency beacons

Southern Search and Rescue members have called on trampers and climbers to carry communication devices after a woman had to wait for more than five hours to be rescued from Mitre Peak in Milford Sound.

Sergeant Tod Hollebon, of Te Anau Police Search and Rescue, said the 30-year-old Dunedin woman suffered a leg injury while climbing on the footstool area of Mitre Peak about 2.30pm on Thursday, but search and rescue were not contacted until 7.15pm because the woman and her partner did not have an emergency beacon.

The partner had to climb back down to the base of Mitre Peak and paddle his kayak to Milford village to raise the alarm.

Although the incident ended well, carrying a means of communication such as an emergency locator beacon would have given the couple a much faster response to the emergency situation they faced, Hollebon said.

Te Anau police were contacted five hours after the woman was injured and coordinated a rescue, he said.

A winch-equipped South- ern Lakes helicopter, piloted by Mark Deaker and with a doctor and paramedic on board, flew to the climber’s assistance.

She was airlifted to Southland Hospital, in Invercargill, with a suspected broken ankle.

Deaker, an

experienced SAR pilot, has also urged trampers and climbers to be prepared for the unexpected.

He said yesterday’s incident could have turned out differently if the climbers had been in a more remote part of Fiordland.

‘‘Despite being relatively near to Milford Sound, the climber was injured at about 2.30pm, we got a call around 7pm and by the time we ended up winching the climber off the peak it was getting dark.

‘‘If they were in a remote area it could have been days before the alarm was raised.’’

He said the lack of a communication device was often the downfall of trampers and climbers.