Avalanche
Industry News
intense video of rescuer being lower and injured climber being raised.
Three Chinese climbers were spotted on 8,261-foot Mt. Taranaki, NZ near the summit at 4:40pm on Sunday by a tourist.  That tourist notified rescue personnel fearing that they wouldn’t be able to get down to safety before nightfall.
While rescue personnel were preparing to fly up to the 3 Chinese climbers via helicopter in the dark, an avalanche came down and hit the 3 Chinese climbers.
“While the rescue helicopter was preparing to take off to head to the scene, the trio were hit by the avalanche.” – police spokesman
The 3 Chinese climbers spoke no English but used their cell phones to call relatives who then called New Zealand emergency services.
The 3 climbers were eventually rescued in the dark by the Taranaki Rescue Helicopter and Alpine Rescue teams. Â One suffered a broken arm and the other two had minor injuries. Â All three climbers were taken to the Taranaki Base Hospital for treatment.
One of the 3 climbers was awaiting surgery on Monday, according to a hospital spokesperson.
All 3 of the climbers were wearing helmets and their helmets had been damaged by falling ice and snow.
“They were just fortunate that they were not swept a considerable distance by the avalanche.” – Senior Constable Peter Lawn, of Police Search and Rescue
None of these 3 climbers were wearing avalanche beacons.
The avalanche danger was rated at “Considerable” (the rating the most people die under) on Sunday according to the New Zealand Avalanche Advisory website. Â It is currently winter in New Zealand.
Rescuers reportedly dodged falling rocks and ice the size of soccer balls in the dark to reach the 3 injured, avalanched climbers at an elevation of 6,600-feet.
 One rescuer from the Taranaki Alpine Rescue team received minor injuries due to the falling ice and was treated at the scene.Â
“Due to the conditions, a third rescuer was collected from the Stratford Plateau and winched on to the mountain to assist with the group. Rescuers encountered difficult conditions on the 40-45 degree mountain slopes with ice falling from above the group making the rescue operation significantly challenging.” – police spokesman added.
“It appeared that they were inexperienced and moving slowly 2000m up in the centre of the east face.” – police spokesman
