Police have issued a warning to hikers after a woman had to be rescued in Southland, New Zealand when she forgot her 406 personal locator beacon.
About 7pm last Saturday the woman called police to say she was lost in low cloud.
She was well prepared for a day tramp and was quite experienced, but she only had her mobile phone.
“The irony is, she owns a 406 Distress Beacon (Personal Locator Beacon) and didn’t think she would need it because she knew the area, but as it turns out – she did need it.”
“The [406] PLBs are more powerful, accurate and provide a rapid response by emergency services.”
“The [406] PLBs also have an important homing function for rescue aircraft to locate and pinpoint the position once the aircraft is on scene, even if the party are under a tree canopy.
“We have found, with other devices, the information is delayed and often difficult to locate them without the homing function in rugged country.”
“It was just pure luck that she had good mobile phone reception”.
“Remember though, you can never rely on good luck when you are out in the great outdoors.”
Read more here: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/tramper-rescued-by-police-chopper-sar-after-forgetting-distress-beacon/RN7N3YUJEVBEFP5A7LTNKKBTLU/