ODT

South OtagoSeptember 4

Search operations base almost ready

The expanded operating base of the Owaka branch of Catlins Land Search and Rescue is nearing completion. And the LandSAR crew is hosting an open day to showcase the functional facility's ''value for money and what benefit we are to the community'', chairman Fraser Morris says.

North OtagoOctober 8

SAR module already proving its worth

A new $150,000 search and rescue forward command unit that is expected to save lives across North Otago was officially revealed to the public at the weekend.

DunedinMay 20

Dunedin team found to be winner

Assessor Lance Nicholas (left) poses with the winners of the 2013 Tautuku Cup for land-based search and rescue, a Dunedin LandSAR team made up of (from second left) Nick Wells, Dave Robertson, Juliette Parsons, Shanna Clyne, Stefan Prost, John Gilbert and Sonia Evers (front), on Stewart Island at the weekend.

NewsApril 19

South tops SAR costs

The Southern region has cost the New Zealand Police and outside resources more than any other province for search and rescue operations in the past financial year.

DunedinSeptember 27

Teams of trackers set off in search scenario competition

Two teams of the country's top rescue trackers headed into the hills around Dunedin yesterday as part of what is believed to be the first competition of its kind in the southern hemisphere.

DunedinJune 17

Dunedin search and rescue ends in arrest

A search and rescue operation on hills near Dunedin on Saturday ended with the arrest of the search subject.

North OtagoJune 15

Lions makes up council shortfall for unit

Raising efforts to provide North Otago Search and Rescue with a new forward command unit this week reached the halfway point, despite the Waitaki District Council's refusal to contribute financially towards the purchase.

North OtagoMay 11

Need for unit evident: SAR

The week-long extensive search for missing Dunedin man David Palmer has highlighted the need for a new command unit for North Otago Search and Rescue, a $150,000 project started last year, the organisation's vice-chairman says.

NewsJanuary 20

LandSAR plea in wake of national park deaths

In the wake of the two recent fatalities in Mt Aspiring National Park, national volunteer search and rescue organisation LandSAR New Zealand is urging trampers, hunters and climbers going into the back country this summer to do all they can to help rescuers find them in an emergency.

North OtagoDecember 15

Two callouts for SAR

Search and rescue teams were called to two separate events in North Otago on Wednesday night.

QueenstownDecember 6

Canyon rescue earns Wanaka duo national award

"Reluctant heroes" Lionel Clay and Davie Robinson, of Wanaka, have received national recognition for their part in a search and rescue operation in April.

North OtagoNovember 14

Waitaki SAR chief stole rescue gear

The "unofficial chairman" of Omarama-based Waitaki Search and Rescue last year stole equipment from the organisation, then made a false insurance claim for the property.

Central OtagoJune 14

Grant assists Central Otago SAR

The work of Central Otago Search and Rescue has just become easier, thanks to a grant enabling it to purchase 10 new radio harnesses required for field work.

NationalFebruary 23

Liferaft find raises false hopes for rescuers

Rescuers looking for a Norwegian yacht with a crew of three missing in the freezing waters of the Ross Sea in the Antarctic had their hopes raised then swiftly dashed today when they found a liferaft.

DunedinJanuary 17

Number of rescue operations increasing

The number of police-led search and rescue operations in the Southern police district increased 20% last year.

DunedinDecember 28

Ill man winched from ship

Two helicopters were used yesterday to pick up an ill man in his 80s from the cruise ship Silver Shadow, in the Tasman Sea.

SouthlandDecember 23

Rescuer feared for stranded woman

As Jinney Neale clung barefoot to rocks with a 5m swell lashing around her, Te Anau search and rescue member Stewart Burnby feared she would die.

QueenstownDecember 23

Lake exercise conducted

A joint training exercise heralding closer ties between Queenstown Coastguard and commercial operators on Lake Wakatipu - prompted by the deaths of French kayakers Yoann Firdion (24) and Raphael Soubrier (21) earlier this month - was held in the resort last night.

QueenstownDecember 15

Plans to improve SAR response

Last week's double kayaking death on Lake Wakatipu has prompted closer, more formalised ties between Queenstown's Coastguard and commercial boat operators after two meetings earlier this week.

QueenstownNovember 26

SAR exercise hones skills

About 60 emergency services personnel from Queenstown, Wanaka and Clyde, along with Rescue Co-ordination Centre staff from Wellington, will take part in a full-scale search and rescue exercise (sarex) in the Wakatipu today.

SouthlandNovember 24

Hunter had broken leg

A hunter who went missing in Fiordland National Park on Tuesday night was winched to safety by a search and rescue (SAR) team after he was found with a broken leg yesterday afternoon.

QueenstownNovember 21

Multi-agency search and rescue exercise soon

Enhancing communication and safety on the waterways are among the aims of a full-scale multi-agency search and rescue exercise to take place in Queenstown on Saturday.

SouthlandOctober 31

Trapper towed to safety

A possum trapper's boat was towed to shore by a helicopter after drifting 5km out to sea yesterday.

NationalOctober 14

Helicopter search set to resume

The search for a helicopter, which went missing with two people on board near Invercargill yesterday in perfect conditions, was to resume at first light.

DunedinOctober 3

17 rescued by SAR in last year

Marine search and rescue (MSAR) teams carried out fewer missions around Dunedin last year, but spent more time doing them.