KEY POINTS:
Specialist night-vision equipment and some expert flying allowed two climbers stuck in a West Coast gorge to be rescued just after midnight yesterday.
The Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Wellington picked up a distress beacon signal about 7.45pm on Saturday and rather than waiting until daylight contacted the Te Anau rescue helicopter, which has night-vision goggles aboard.
The crew found the pair in a steep and narrow gorge near the Perth River, southeast of Whataroa, about 11.30pm. They were winched out and taken to Hokitika at 12.30am.
"These guys were wet and cold and had run out of options," said mission controller Geoff Lunt.
"Usually we would have had to wait until first light but by using the night-vision goggles we were able to get them out of what could have turned into a nasty situation far quicker."
