Carrying personal locator beacons meant quick rescues for two
people injured in two separate accidents in remote parts of
the South this week.
A 67-year-old Dunedin woman was picked up by a helicopter
after breaking an ankle in the Mount Aspiring National Park
on Tuesday night.
She was picked up from the Siberia Valley by the Southern
Lakes rescue helicopter just after 7pm after the Rescue
Co-ordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) was able to arrange
the rescue quickly because the group of over-60 trampers was
carrying a personal locator beacon.
Earlier this week, a 24-year-old woman who also broke an
ankle, was winched from Stewart Island. Her group also
activated a personal locator beacon, highlighting the
importance of carrying a beacon, RCCNZ search and rescue
mission co-ordinator Geoff Lunt said.
Beacons could be bought or hired, and should also be
registered so the RCCNZ could quickly reach emergency
contacts, if required.
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