Two hikers set up camp for the night in Fiordland National Park, New Zealand, and activated a 406 personal locator beacon the next morning after the woman of the pair injured her ankle.
The spokeswoman said a rescue helicopter from Southern Lakes Helicopters was sent to rescue the stranded pair.
“Distress beacons save lives. Carry at least two types of reliable emergency communications that will work even if they get wet,” the spokeswoman said.
“You can’t always rely on a mobile phone because it might be out of range, run out of battery or be damaged by water.”
The centre then received another personal locator beacon alert from a cyclist on the St James Cycle Trail in North Canterbury about 10am on Thursday.
A rescue helicopter from Nelson flew the man to Nelson Hospital.
Thursday’s rescues come after three climbers were rescued at Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park on Wednesday.
Two women and a man were separately winched off the summit ridge of Mt Malte Brun after activating their 406 beacon at 6pm.
The Department of Conservation Alpine Cliff Rescue Team and Helicopter Line successfully rescued the party by 9.30pm.
“No-one was injured, but they were stuck in difficult terrain at 3100 metres altitude with no food and water – following an unplanned night on the mountain,” the spokesman said.
On 30 December, two other climbers were rescued in a complicated 15-hour mission after a rock slide in steep terrain at Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park. One of the climbers was badly injured.
Read more here:
https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/southland/rescued-after-using-beacon
More information about distress beacons, including how to register a beacon, can be found online at https://beacons.org.nz/
Carry a 406 MHz distress beacon – Cospas-Sarsat, we save lives!