A 406 PLB has proved to be a lifesaver for a father and son stranded in Kahurangi National Park, New Zealand.
The alarm was raised on Saturday evening, after the man and his 10-year-old son got into difficulty and became separated at high altitude.
With bad weather closing in, including rain and snow flurries, the pair had been unable to reach shelter as nightfall approached.
They had set off their 406 PLB but the Rescue Co-ordination Centre (RCCNZ) was not able to get a helicopter to them that evening, because of the poor weather conditions.
It was an unusual case for RCCNZ because they ended up with two casualties in different locations, and they had direct phone contact with the father who owned the 406 PLB, since he had walked to a high point to find a small pocket of mobile phone coverage.
The rescue was then handed over to Nelson Police Search and Rescue, who dispatched three teams from Motueka and Nelson to find the pair in very hostile terrain.
“He literally saved his own life and that of his 10-year-old son. The cost of hiring the beacon was $20. Possibly the best $20 he has ever spent.
“A day later would most likely find him dead of hypothermia,” as the next day, the rivers on the track had flooded.
Read more here:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/123164922/locator-beacon-lifesaver-for-father-and-son-stranded-on-freezing-national-park-ridge