31 Dec 2020

Climbers rescued from Aoraki/ Mt Cook

6:22 pm on 31 December 2020

Two climbers have been rescued from an altitude of 1800 metres in Aoraki / Mt Cook National Park.

The injured climber being loaded on to the helicopter

The injured climber being loaded on to the helicopter Photo: SUPPLIED/ Greymouth Rescue Helicopter crew member Tim Robins

One of them of badly injured.

The Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre said the climbers were caught in a rock slide in steep terrain last night.

Search co-ordinator Neville Blackmore said the pair, a man and a woman in their 50s, activated the distress function on their GPS tracker, which may well have saved the injured climber's life.

Location of climbers

Location of climbers Photo: SUPPLIED/ Greymouth Rescue Helicopter crew member Tim Robins

The man suffered a broken arm, concussion and a gashed leg.

The other climber was relatively unharmed - she roped the injured party onto the slope.

Heavy cloud hampered the rescue until early this morning, when a helicopter winched a rescue crew down to the pair. They arrived at Greymouth Hospital just before 9am.