Thursday, 23 October 2003 - 5:29pm |
National News

Mt Cook rescue

1 min read

The names of the two people stranded on Mt Cook have been released.

The woman is Yvonne COOK aged 36, resident of Christchurch, but from Leicester, England.

Her companion is Stephen ROBERTS, aged 33, resident of Kaikoura.

We will not release details of the other two climbers in the De La Beche Hut at this stage but they are both from New Zealand.

Rescue teams at Mt Cook are still on standby and poised, waiting for the skies to clear enough to get a helicopter in to lift off a sick climber and her companion, stranded on the Rudolph Glacier.

There has been no change in the weather but there’s a chance they could still get the rescue teams though to the base of the Rudolph Glacier tonight to set up base camp there say Police.

Constable Brent SWANSON says that the teams from Mt Cook and from Wanaka have been briefed to go in as soon as there is an opportunity.

&#34Morale and spirits are still high amongst the rescuers,&#34 he says.

When the two stranded climbers were left by their companions, who went for help yesterday, the two had a sleeping bag and a bivvy bag (a single person shelter which goes over a sleeping bag) each, cooking equipment and a small quantity of fuel and some food.