Rescued after night in the cold

Emergency services carry a man in a Stokes basket from the Frasers Gully track yesterday, after...
Emergency services carry a man in a Stokes basket from the Frasers Gully track yesterday, after he fell and spent the night exposed to the elements. Phot: Gerard O'Brien.
A Dunedin man spent the night exposed to chilling temperatures after falling from the Frasers Gully track and injuring himself on Thursday night.

The Brockville resident was taken to hospital after being discovered by a woman walking her dog yesterday morning.

Temperatures plunged throughout the city on Thursday night with many areas waking to frost.

Emergency services were called to the track about 9.15am.

"Police responded to a call from a member of the public who had heard a male call for help near Dalziel Rd on the Frasers Gully track," a police spokesman said.

"The male was located down a bank and was able to be pulled up on to the track by ambulance and police staff.

"He was taken to hospital to be checked over.

"It appears the male, from a Brockville residence, had spent the night in the elements and was suffering from the cold."

Willowbank station officer Ant O’Neill said the man, who was middle-aged, was pleased to see his rescuers.

"He was very cold," he said.

"He was very glad to see us."

Firefighters, St John staff and police officers carried the man off the track in a Stokes basket.

A St John spokesman said the man was taken to Dunedin Hospital’s emergency department with moderate injuries.

The MetService station in central Dunedin showed the temperature had dropped to 4degC, but other stations around the city recorded freezing temperatures.

Mr O’Neill said the man was very lucky considering the cold temperatures.

"He had been walking ... and taken a fall off the side of the track and subsequently couldn’t get back on to the track and was there for the night," he said.

"It would have been very cold for him."

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