Crimeline - couple rescued from Ben Lomond
With chilly late night rescues, lucky escapes and a Night n’ Day runner nabbed this past week, Police are also urging people to dob in those dealing in and using illicit drugs.
French couple rescued off Ben Lomond
A French couple, newly moved to the Whakatipu, were rescued after dark from a ridge 1500m up Ben Lomond after becoming lost while following a map on their phone near the summit around 7pm on Thursday, 25 July.
Constable Anara Hocking says the couple called 111 reporting that they were lost as it was after dark and they hadn’t planned on being out overnight. “They had sufficient gear to keep them warm, but not to stay out overnight,” she says. “They made the right call to phone Police given they didn’t know the area and had insufficient clothing for staying overnight at that cold altitude.”
The Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter was dispatched using its night flying capabilities and chief pilot Kevin Gale says they brought the couple back to the helicopter hangar at Frankton. Neither of them was injured. “We landed on the ridge about three quarters of the way up the mountain and they just got on board,” he says. “That’s what we’re here for. That was the right thing to do.”
Car rolls, Coronet Peak Road
A 29-year-old Queenstown man had a lucky escape when his vehicle lost traction on a right-hand bend on Coronet Peak Road at 11.35am on Thursday, 25 July, rolling upside down and ending up 10 metres below the road. Community Constable Amanda Shute says the vehicle slid out, the driver over corrected, the vehicle rotated 180degrees then dropped off the side of the road and down a steep hill. “It rolled once before coming to rest on its wheels 10 metres below,” she says. The driver, who escaped without injury, was issued with a written traffic warning for careless driving.
Glenorchy Road accident
Police were also called to the Glenorchy Queenstown Road at 3.10am on Saturday, 27 July, after a 27-year-old driver lost control, crossed the centre line and hit a bank before ricocheting back onto the road and into a dirt bank on the opposite side. Shute says there were no injuries, and the matter is still under investigation.
Night ‘n Day runner caught in Gorge Road
A 19-year-old Australian Night ‘n Day Queenstown shoplifter got more than he bargained for after making off with two donuts and a wrap from the store at 12.48am on Sunday, 28 July. Police, flagged down by the store manager, chased him on foot in hot pursuit to Gorge Road where he was found with the items and arrested, Shute says.
“He returned to the store and paid for the items he’d stolen, and was issued with a trespass notice and then a formal warning.”
Hunters rescued
The rescue helicopter also responded from Queenstown last Friday night at 11.30pm (25 July) after an alert from the Rescue Coordination Centre to say two deer hunters had activated a personal locator beacon near Te Anau Downs. A Maritime NZ RCC spokesman says Search and Rescue officers called the helicopter and the hunters were located. One had fallen into a creek and was suffering from the cold. He was airlifted to Te Anau Medical Centre while the other made his own way home.
Tandem paragliding accident under investigation
The Civil Aviation Authority is working with Skytrek Tandem Hang Gliding and Paragliding to understand why last week’s paragliding accident occurred off Coronet Peak. A CAA spokesman says the operator is also carrying out an internal investigation. No details can be released while the investigation is underway, and due to privacy reasons, nor can the condition of the young woman flown to Christchurch, headed for Burwood Hospital with serious spinal injuries.
Police urge, dob in the druggies
Police are warning they will continue to target illicit drugs as part of a regional crackdown and are urging the public to inform them of anyone supplying these drugs on 105, via the station or through Crimestoppers on 0800555111. A 37-year-old Queenstown man was one of two arrested in the lower South Island late last week after the Southern District Organised Crime Group executed search warrants locally. He has faced multiple charges in court, including possession of cocaine, ketamine, and LSD for supply.
