A Dunedin couple have returned to the city after a tramping
ordeal on Mitre Peak.
Te Anau police and members of a Search and Rescue team
rescued a 30-year-old Dunedin woman from the Footstool area
of Mitre Peak on Thursday evening, after she thought she had
broken her ankle.
The woman's partner, who was tramping with her, went to get
help about 2.30pm, climbing down the mountain then kayaking
to the village, where he alerted police about 7.15pm.
Te Anau police co-ordinated the woman's rescue, which
involved a Southern Lakes helicopter crewed with a doctor and
paramedic. She was winched from the site and flown to
Southland Hospital in Invercargill.
Sergeant Tod Hollebon, of Te Anau, said if the trampers had
carried a means of communication, such as an emergency
locater beacon, their rescue would have been much faster.
Last night, Te Anau police said the couple had returned to
Dunedin.
The woman's leg was in plaster but she was otherwise
uninjured. She declined to comment.
- rosie.manins@odt.co.nz
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