A member of the search team looking for missing tramper Darren Myers in the Tararua Range was hospitalised on Saturday.
Myers, 49, was meant to finish his five day tramp on Saturday last week at Mount Holdsworth near Masterton - but he never showed up. The last contact was a text last week.
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Search and Rescue teams have been out looking for the man ever since, but it's been like finding a needle in a haystack. They've been focussing on areas where Myers may have gone off his planned route.
On Saturday, efforts continued, with around 30 people, including from Police, New Zealand Defence Force staff, and LandSAR volunteers working in what police acting sergeant Tony Matheson described as "trying conditions".
For the last few days, the team has been battling snow, low temperatures, and low visibility.
One member of the team was hospitalised after rolling his ankle and fracturing his tibia.
"One member of the search team was transported to hospital by Westpac Rescue Helicopter.
"He rolled his ankle and fractured his tibia while searching a creek bed, he's at home recovering now."
Aerial searching continued until about 4pm, and search teams will rotate on Sunday. It will begin again at 7am.
Myers is from the United Kingdom, but has been residing in Wellington.
His brother-in-law, Duncan Styles, told Newshub on Friday that it's been a week from hell for the family.
"It's really tough. My wife was just in buckets of tears last night, it's really, really emotional times."
Styles says Myers is not a risk-taker in the outdoors and has a winter sleeping bag with him, so he was prepared for cold conditions
"He's really concerned about safety and getting things right and making sure he's prepared and has the right gear for the walks that he does."
Sergeant Tony Mattheson from NZ Police said on Friday that even nearly a week on, Myers could have survived.
"If he's managed to get down low and get off those extreme weather conditions, because they are extreme, and he's managed to get down low and get himself into a place of shelter, then survivability is completely on the cards."
Newshub.
