Tramper Rescued in Tararua Ranges

The Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) coordinated a successful search and rescue of a tramper in the Tararua Ranges today.

The RCCNZ tasked Wellington’s Westpac Rescue Helicopter to locate the man after a beacon signal was picked up coming from the Tararua ranges area. The signal, which was from the tramper’s personal locater beacon, was first detected at 11.22am today, and the Westpac helicopter departed at 11.55am.

The tramper was located safe and well sheltering in a hut in the Tararua Ranges and was returned to his car at Otaki Forks this afternoon. He told rescuers that he had been worried about the weather closing in and his ability to make it safely out before sparking a land search.

This was the first full search and rescue for the new RCCNZ, and the team involved was very happy with the quick and successful outcome.

“The benefit of a personal locator beacon is that we were able to get a quick fix on the location of the tramper. The team at the Westpac Rescue Helicopter responded quickly to our request to begin the search and it was a good result all round,” said RCCNZ Search Coordinator , Roger Brimacombe.

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