Chinese tourist saved from Mt Ruapehu with help of bilingual cop and flight path

Police were notified that a Chinese tourist was overdue from Mt Ruapehu just before 6:30pm last Thursday. Photo / Bevan Conley

A police officer fluent in Mandarin and the flight path of a overhead plane helped in the rescue of a woman stranded on Mt Ruapehu last week.

Police were notified that a Chinese tourist was overdue from Mt Ruapehu just before 6.30pm last Thursday, September 27.

The woman, who had been out walking since 9am that day, had an international cellphone with her but spoke very limited English.

With no food, very little water, freezing temperatures settling in and no one sure exactly where she was going, time was of the essence.

Being able to talk to the woman in Mandarin would be key to finding out where she was, so Constable Gary Lui was called in to help.

He was on a day off but headed straight to the District Command Centre in Palmerston North and got on the phone to the woman who was cold and extremely distressed.

Being fluent in Mandarin, Constable Lui was able to reassure her and obtain key information to begin piecing together where she might be.

Intelligence analyst Lucy Ingle, also based in the DCC, helped by taking the information Constable Lui gained to plot the woman's possible location.

The woman described seeing a plane fly overhead, so Ingle found the flight path of what might have been the plane to establish where the woman was likely to be.

Constable Lui relayed the idea back to the tourist, confirming the area was correct before sending a search team in.

The incredible teamwork led to the tourist being located within two hours and she was flown to Whakapapa Village by helicopter.

Detective Simon Beswarick commended everyone involved, saying the end result could have been very different.

"It was highly likely the lost lady would have perished if she had not been located, with temperatures below freezing at the time and set to drop more overnight," he said.

"The intuitive thinking and quick actions by those involved really made all the difference."