'All hell broke loose': Tourists airlifted from Milford Sound

American tourists Tara and John Packo were on a cruise ship in Milford Sound earlier this week when “all hell broke loose”.

The couple were expected to fly home out of Queenstown tomorrow but their trip was cut short when the state of emergency was declared in Milford Sound.

Mrs Packo said about 62 people were on the boat when they were told on Monday they would not be able to get out of Milford Sound due to road closures.

She said when they were originally on the boat, everything was fine until the flooding began and “all hell broke loose”. 

“It wasn’t until late last night they told us to be prepared to be taken by the helicopters [to Te Anau] in the morning.”

American tourists Tara and John Packo were airlifted out of Milford Sound this morning after spending three days on a boat awaiting rescue. Photo: Abbey Palmer
American tourists Tara and John Packo were airlifted out of Milford Sound this morning after spending three days on a boat awaiting rescue. Photo: Abbey Palmer

Early this morning, groups of 24 to 26 people were transported to the helicopter launch pad where groups of five to six people were airlifted to Knobs Flat on a 20 minute flight.

“The bus brought us here [Real Journeys Fiordland Community Centre] and they’re trying to fly us to Queenstown so we can get our flight out tomorrow.”

Despite the challenging circumstances, the pair were in good spirits.

“If you asked us if the experience would stop us from coming back we would say no way. 

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