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The RCCNZ sent a Garden City Helicopter from Christchurch to find and locate the source of the beacon.
At 6.30 pm the helicopter crew found the man on a cliff waving his torch for attention. However, with darkness approaching, it was too dangerous for the helicopter to winch the man into the helicopter so close to the cliff.
A land rescue was also deemed too dangerous in the dark, so the hunter was left there overnight and rescued by helicopter at 7.50am this morning.
Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator Mike Roberts says the cliff face where the hunter was located made a night rescue too difficult.
“It would have been a very welcome sight for him to see the helicopter reappear this morning.
“This rescue is a really good example about how useful personal locator beacons are if you ever get in distress in a remote location. It’s critical that you buy 406MHz frequency beacons rather than others on the market though. The position information is more accurate, and from 2009 only these types of beacons will be detected by satellite, which in this particular case was the only means of notifying us that someone needed help,” he said.
For further information contact:
RCCNZ Media Line
Phone 04 499 7318
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