Injured hunter winched from bush

A seriously injured hunter was last night airlifted to safety from the Fiordland bush after a tricky rescue mission.

The 54-year-old Australian man set off his emergency locator beacon from the George River area just after 7pm, said Keith Allen, of the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ).

The beacon alert coincided with a call from the South Island Mountain Radio Service, advising that the hunter had a broken leg.

A helicopter with night vision equipment was sent in but the rescue was "not straight forward" because the machine could not get close enough to winch the man out of the bush.

"The hunter's injuries were also worse than at first thought, with a badly broken leg, fractured pelvis and suspected internal injuries sustained after falling over a bluff," Mr Allen said.

"The rescue team then had to go in on foot and move the injured man to a more suitable spot so the helicopter could gain access, where the winch still needed to be extended to its longest reach."

Mr Allen said one of the rescue crew then had to spend a night camped at the rescue site to make room for the injured man and his companion.

The pair were flown to Southland Hospital in Invercargill late last night, where the man was treated.

The helicopter returned to the rescue site early this morning to pick up the crew member and retrieve the man's rifle and pack.

"Thanks to the hunter being well prepared by carrying an emergency beacon and mountain radio, we were able to launch a rescue mission and reach him relatively quickly, which probably saved his life," Mr Allen said.

- NZPA