Two climbers airlifted from Mt Tasman

The Aoraki-Mt Cook Rescue Team has rescued two missing climbers from a crevasse area near the summit of Mt Tasman early this morning.

The two men, a 23-year old Australian and a 25-year old from Britain, were rescued after being forced to spend two nights trapped high on the mountain.

Inspector Dave Gaskin, Mid South Canterbury Area Commander, says the pair were reported to the Department of Conservation, Aoraki Mt.Cook from Plateau Hut after
they failed to return from their climb on Saturday [12 January].

Severe weather conditions in the mountains over this time raised concerns for their welfare. The Aoraki-Mt Cook Rescue Team was deployed at first light today and located them.

Because of the inaccessible location where they were found, the long line rescue technique was used to extract the pair from high on the mountain.

The climbers have been airlifted to Mt Cook village this morning for a medical assessment. Initial reports are that the climbers are uninjured, but are wet and cold.

ENDS

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