Senior Constable Brent Swanson speaks to the media in
Teakpo this morning. Photo by Gerard O'Brien.
A break in the snow has let search and rescue staff send
in a helicopter to rescue the remaining members of Prime
Minister Helen Clark's ski party this morning.
Miss Clark and friends tried for three hours, but failed, to
save the life of their mountain guide and friend Gottlieb
Otto Braun-Elwert (59) in the rugged Two Thumbs Range in the
back country of South Canterbury yesterday afternoon. He is
believed to have suffered a heart attack
The prime minister and Damian O'Connor were evacuated from
Rex Simpson hut, which was about 6km from the Tekapo
skifield, last night.
The trip involved half an hour on a ski mobile before they
reached a vehicle to take them out.
Ms Clark spent the rest of the evening with Gottlieb
Braun-Elwert's wife Anne in Tekapo.
A pilot from Mt Cook arrived at Air Safaris, near Tekapo,
this morning to prepare to go in to get the body of Mr
Braun-Elwert, two remaining members of the party believed to
be Peter Davis, Ms Clark's niece and David Parker, a police
officer and mountain guide who stayed last night.
Mid South Canterbury area commander Dave Gaskin said there
had been very difficult weather conditions up at hut.
"They are doing allright. It's pretty tough.'
Miss Clark, husband Peter Davis, and their party, including
Minister of Energy David Parker and Minister of Tourism
Damien O'Connor, were on holiday and carried out CPR on Mr
Braun-Elwert for a "considerable period of time" until
advised by ambulance staff that they should stop, Mid South
Canterbury area police commander Dave Gaskin said.
It is understood Miss Clark and Mr O'Connor left the hut last
night.
Rescue guide Dave Crowe today told Radio New Zealand the pair
had left in order to be with Mr Braun-Elwert's family. He
said they left by four-wheel-drive.
The rest of the party would probably walk out today.
St John said it received an emergency call from Mt Gerald in
the Two Thumbs Range, in the Tekapo district, at 3.53pm.
It despatched the Westpac Rescue Helicopter from
Christchurch, with a St John advanced paramedic on board, to
Tekapo, but neither it nor another local helicopter operator
was able to reach the site because of what Mr Gaskin
described as "atrocious weather conditions".
Search and Rescue volunteers and a police search and rescue
squad, including a St John advanced paramedic, were
understood to have reached the hut late last night and were
preparing to evacuate the party, Mr Gaskin said.
Miss Clark and her husband were keen mountain climbers and
skiing enthusiasts and were regular clients of Mr
Braun-Elwert.
Her spokesman said last night Miss Clark and her husband were
"deeply shocked and disturbed" at the sudden death and their
thoughts were with the family.
There was no danger to the prime minister or other members of
the party, he said.
Mr Braun-Elwert, who immigrated to New Zealand in 1978 and
had an MSc in nuclear physics, was a mountain guide running a
tourist business, Alpine Recreation, at Lake Tekapo.
He had about 46 years of mountaineering and 36 years of
professional guiding experience.
Among his notable climbs were all New Zealand's 3000m peaks
during a single winter (1989), 26 ascents of Aoraki Mt Cook
and eight ascents of Mt Tasman.
In May 2002, he traversed Denali (Mt McKinley).
He was a member of the Canterbury-Aoraki Conservation Board
and served on the first round of the Acland Group, the
ministerial reference group looking into issues of public
access to New Zealand waterways and back country.
Mr Braun-Elwert often campaigned to have "natural quiet"
recognised as a resource. - Staff Reporters
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