Tourist trapped by ice released from hospital

A Czech tourist briefly trapped beneath falling ice at Fox Glacier on the West Coast was released from hospital last night.

"We are pleased that our client is okay. Our thanks go to our staff and emergency services for responding swiftly yesterday," Fox Glacier Guiding chief executive Rob Jewell said.

The tourist, in his mid 20s, was on a tour with the company when, around 3.30pm, he was caught by a rock fall - a large chunk of ice pinning him.

He was flown to Greymouth Base Hospital with suspected back and leg injuries, but scans showed he had escaped serious injury.

He was saved by a quirk of nature, West Coast District Health Board spokesman Bryan Jamieson told Radio New Zealand.

"Where he was on the glacier, the shape of the glacier actually helped him in that he was trapped by the chunk of ice that came down but it was not actually resting against his body."

Mr Jewell said yesterday it was not known "precisely what had happened" and the company would launch an investigation.

In January, two Australian brothers were killed in an ice fall at the glacier.

Ashish and Akshay Miranda were holidaying with their parents when they walked beyond warning signs and were buried under tonnes of falling ice.

The body of Ashish, 24, was recovered immediately but the body of Akshay, 22, was not found until a week later, 10km downstream from the glacier.

A former guide at the glacier warned at the time that better fencing and more signs were needed, as many tourists ignored safety barriers.

- NZPA