[Wornat1959]

Diese Meldung tut gut in dem ganzen Dreck der letzten Tage ...

Vermisste Wanderer nach 18 Tagen aus neuseeländischer Wildnis gerettet

• Nebel brachte zwei Wanderer in Neuseeland vom Weg ab.
• Ein Fünf-Tage-Trip im riesigen Kahurangi-Park, in dem Szenen von “Herr der Ringe” gedreht wurden, geriet zum 18-tägigen Nervenkrieg.
• Schließlich wurde das Feuer der Vermissten von einem Hubschrauber gesichtet.

27.05.2020, 10:57 Uhr



Zwei vermisste Wanderer in Neuseeland sind nach 18 Tagen in der Wildnis lebend gefunden worden. Die beiden 23-Jährigen waren seit dem 9. Mai im weitläufigen Nationalpark Kahurangi unterwegs gewesen. Nach Polizeiangaben hatte ihr Ausflug eigentlich nur etwa fünf Tage dauern sollen.

Schlechtes Wetter erschwerte die Suche

Schlechtes Wetter hatte die Suche nach ihnen behindert. An ihr waren bis Mittwoch 50 Personen beteiligt, darunter fünf Fährtenleser, drei Hundeteams und zwei Hubschrauberbesatzungen. Nachdem die beiden entdeckt worden waren, wurden sie per Rettungshubschrauber zum Flughafen Nelson geflogen.

Sanitäter stellten nur leichte Verletzungen fest. Anschließend wurden sie nach Angaben einer Sprecherin des Sanitätsdienstes ins Krankenhaus gebracht.

Erst im Nebel verirrt, dann ohne Nahrung

Nach Polizeiangaben hatten sich die beiden Wanderer schon nach wenigen Tagen im Nebel verirrt, anschließend gingen ihnen die Nahrungsmittel aus. Beide hätten beschlossen, an Ort und Stelle zu bleiben. Sie wurden von einem Militärhubschrauber gerettet, dessen Besatzung Rauch eines Feuers entdeckt hatte, das die Vermissten entzündet hatten.

“Das ist ein fantastischer Ausgang, auf den wir alle gehofft haben”, erklärte der Polizeikommandeur der Region, Paul Borrell. “Allerdings waren wir zunehmend besorgt, je mehr Tage vergingen.”

Kahurangi ist der zweitgrößte Park Neuseelands

Der Nationalpark erstreckt sich über mehr als 450.000 Hektar und ist der zweitgrößte Neuseelands. In einigen Gegenden gibt es keine Pfade. In dem Park wurden Szenen der Filmtrilogie “Herr der Ringe” gedreht.

RND/AP

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Dazu ausführlich von stuff:

19 day ordeal in hostile environment for two Nelson trampers

Tim Newman, Samantha Gee and Cherie Sivignon - 20:19, May 27 2020

Cold, hungry and hopelessly lost, Jess O'Connor and Dion Reynolds made camp and hunkered down.

It was a textbook decision for anyone lost in rugged bush and a decision that may have saved their lives.

"They did the right thing ... they stayed put and they made themselves visible," Nelson-Tasman police search and rescue co-ordinator Sergeant Malcolm York said.

Just before 1pm on Wednesday, [ Link nur für registrierte Mitglieder sichtbar. Bitte einloggen oder neu registrieren ] at their makeshift campsite.

Swooping down to investigate, the searchers saw the pair waving — and a rescue team was dispatched.

Despite the lack of food, injuries, and exposure to the elements, O'Connor and Reynolds were "in really good condition" and much chattier than expected.

O'Connor, a kayak guide, and Reynolds, a chef, had set off to explore the remote, beautiful and unforgiving Anatori area on Golden Bay's remote West Coast.

However, after leaving on May 9, the pair got into trouble early on.

Police on Wednesday afternoon were still piecing together details of what had happened as the pair were flown straight to Nelson Hospital to be assessed after they were rescued.

One of the last people to see them before they set off on their tramp, Heather Simpson, said they told her they were "heading up the river" and had four to six days of food, which they planned to ration and stretch by fasting.

It was believed Reynolds and O'Connor became lost within the first days of their trip due to fog.

They also suffered injuries; their progress was slowed after Dion hurt his ankle, and Jess strained her back in a fall, York said.

O'Connor's injury meant they could not stray far, but they were eventually forced to move to find a source of water at the headwaters of the Fraser Stream – where they remained until they were rescued.

Police described the terrain where the couple were found as "hostile", rugged and remote.

Golden Bay historian and keen tramper Gerard Hindmarsh said the Anatori Goldfields had a reputation for being "pretty vicious country".

While the area had been populated by gold miners in the 19th century, there was little remaining from the tracks they had established at that time.

He said the Anatori was a limestone Karst landscape, filled with lots of deep chasms, grikes and cracks – with the risk of injury as high as getting lost.

It was also bitterly cold.

MetService says temperatures reached a minus 8 degrees Celsius near the exposed tops of the area where windchill was a factor. It also rained with the heaviest falls on Sunday and Monday when between 60mm and 115mm fell accompanied by “quite strong winds” a MetService spokesman said.

The alarm was raised on May 18 after they failed to return when expected, and a search and rescue operation was mobilised.

Up to 50 people were involved in the search, made up of police, NZDF, Fire and Emergency NZ, Land SAR, Department of Conservation's Aoraki/Mount Cook Search and Rescue team, and other volunteers "who all desperately wanted to return Jessica and Dion safely to their families".

During the first week some clues were found – footprints and a campsite, but nothing conclusive.

As the days ticked by police became increasingly concerned, with heavy rain on the 24th delaying the search and making rescue conditions treacherous.

After being airlifted out on an Air Force helicopter back to Nelson, the ordeal for the pair was over when they were discharged from Nelson Hospital about 6pm on Wednesday evening, escaping out a side entrance to avoid the throng of waiting media.

After being reunited with Dion on Wednesday afternoon, his stepfather said he was still feeling emotional.

"It was looking bleak, it really was."

He was on his way to Picton when he heard the pair had been found.

He rushed to Nelson Hospital and was the first to see Dion when he got out of the ambulance, enveloping him in a big hug.

He said the pair had been without food for some time before they were rescued.

"They did it really tough, but they are in high spirits."

He said everyone involved with the search had been amazing with their support over the last 19 days.

Police paid tribute to the efforts of the search teams, made up mainly of volunteers, who persisted throughout the search — passing on a "massive thank you" to the volunteer searchers and the wider community.

Police said there were critical lessons people could take from the search: It was important for someone to know the intentions of a tramper and an "alarm date". It was also important to have the correct gear.

"The pair had excellent equipment that has kept them alive in these cold conditions," York said.

''They had the right gear for this trip."

Stuff

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