Exhausted trampers winched to safety

Two trampers, aged 71 and 78, have been winched to safety after becoming exhausted on the Old Ghost Road track near Westport on the West Coast.

The men, from Invercargill, activated their personal locator beacon at around 8.30am this morning, and the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) directed the Garden City rescue helicopter to the scene.

After an aerial search of difficult terrain, the men were winched to safety at just after 11am and flown to Greymouth.

RCCNZ search and rescue mission coordinator Conrad Reynecke said the men had started the five-day walk on Tuesday and were due out on Sunday.

“The men are regular trampers and were well-prepared and well-equipped, but on this occasion the terrain has got the better of them,” Mr Reynecke said. “They found themselves unable to continue the tramp and have done the right thing in activating their beacon before their condition got worse.”

ENDS

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