Man rescued from Urewera ranges adamant he was going to die

  • 09/06/2018
Man rescued from Urewera ranges adamant he was going to die
Photo credit: Greenlea Rescue Helecopter

Rescuers say a man found lost in the Urewera Ranges had resigned himself to dying next to a river.

Staff on board the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter were alerted on Friday to an emergency beacon activated in the mountain range northeast of Taupō. 

Sure enough a trouser-less man was found in a clearing 150 metres from the beacon's initial GPS coordinate.

Curled up in the foetal position, the man was suffering from severe hypothermia and physically unable to reach the nearby hut. 

He had been swept down a swollen river and ran out of food four days prior, subsequently resigning himself to dying beside the river, a spokesperson for the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter said. 

Man rescued from Urewera ranges adamant he was going to die
Photo credit: Greenlea Rescue Helecopter

The man was immediately re-dressed in dry clothing and placed in a thermal "electric" sleeping bag before being flown to hospital with a low body temperature.

The chopper crew said he was so confused he wasn't even aware he was looking at a hut. 

"The man would not have survived much longer, and the quickly deteriorating weather and late afternoon conditions, necessitated a rapid departure," the spokesperson said.

Man rescued from Urewera ranges adamant he was going to die
Photo credit: Greenlea Rescue Helecopter

 

On the return journey he thanked the helicopter crew profusely and even serenaded them with a "delightful song". 

Man rescued from Urewera ranges adamant he was going to die
Photo credit: Greenlea Rescue Helecopter

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