Stranded hiker clung to his mobile phone while battling freezing conditions

NZ Herald·

29 Apr, 2019 07:42 AM4 mins to read

Samil Farouqui was frozen and terrified after being stranded on Mt Ngauruhoe for five hours. Photo / File

An Auckland man stranded on Mt Ngauruhoe for five hours clung on to his phone as his only lifeline to survival while his hands and fingers froze around it.

Samil Farouqui lost his footing and fell two metres on a precarious slope, injuring his leg on Saturday afternoon.

He prayed and used his mobile phone to communicate with his fellow hikers and he waited in freezing conditions to be found.

The 27-year-old started the tramp with 13 friends at 7am that morning but by mid afternoon he found himself on his own and after crossing the south crater was unsure what direction to take.

After wrongly entering the restricted zone, he found himself having to almost crawl using both his hands and feet up a steep slope, when he slipped and fell about two metres, smacking his right leg on rocks.

"I wasn't able to stand and my whole body was wet and numb."

At 2pm he contacted his friends who he had started the hike with via WhatsApp and told them to call for help as he was lost and could not walk.

As the rain pelted down on him and the wind thrashed his body, he took his mind off the freezing conditions by continuing to communicate with his friends.

"For five hours I sat in the chilly conditions."

When his battery died at 3.30pm, he plugged it into the power bank he had in his bag, along with some food, water and energy drinks.

He was continuously sharing his location with them while they reassured him help was on the way.

"I was just trying to keep myself calm and praying."

He also munched on some dried fruit to fight off the dizziness.

But as the hours passed he started to get anxious that his rescuers would not be able to find him in the darkness.

"At 6pm it was pitch black and nothing was visible. I was thinking how is that rescue team going to spot me. So I switched on the torch light on my phone and started shouting for help and putting my hand up so they could find me easily.

"When I was trying to put my torch light on my hands and fingers were too numb. I couldn't feel them, but it was that time like when it's a question of survival you push yourself too hard and you do extraordinary things. That's what I did that day."

But after a few minutes of waving his phone around, he would have to put his frozen hand back in his jacket pocket for abut 10 seconds to warm it up again.

The entire right side of his body was numb.

At 7pm, he was finally rescued near the summit of Mt Ngauruhoe in the Tongariro National Park. The temperature had dropped to 7C but due to the 50-60km/h winds, it caused a wind chill factor of about -10C.

Senior Constable Barry Shepherd said the man was frozen and couldn't move. Two rescuers helped him down the mountain to the half-way point at the South Crater where they were met by another rescue team of three.

He was given some warm thermal clothes and food and drink, and the second team helped escort him out to the road's end by 11pm.

Shepherd said while the man had plenty of food and drink for his tramp he had inadequate clothing.