Where’s Tassie gone? Terrifying vision from Hobart shows just how cold it is as nine are rescued from a mountain blizzard: ‘They may have perished’
- Nine walkers narrowly avoided certain death after being trapped on a mountain
- Rescuers reached them on the blizzardy peaks of Mount Wellington in Hobart
- Two were rescued at night at 10.30pm in freezing conditions after they got lost
- Hikers, families and tourists have been taking advantage of the Tasmanian snow
- Police are calling for inexperienced walkers to avoid mountain peaks at this time
Nine people keen to check out the rare and remarkable snowfall at the top of Tasmania’s tallest mountain had to be dramatically rescued after they were caught in dangerous blizzard conditions.
Authorities were forced to conduct three separate dangerous rescues after the hikers found themselves in trouble while walking up Mount Wellington in Hobart last weekend.
In footage filmed by Tasmania Police on June 11 and released on Tuesday, rescuers were seen battling blizzard conditions and high winds as they searched the summit.
Mountain peak temps are dropping by 15 degrees compared to the lower levels of Mount Wellington
Police found nine people trapped by extreme winds and snowfall, with one group of six in a summit toilet block, and two others sheltering behind some rocks
Hikers, tourists and families headed up the mountain to take advantage of the snowy conditions over the weekend.
One female hiker was rescued on Sunday after she ascended to the mountain peak but could not go back down as the track was covered in snow.
She had taken cover in an observation shelter, where police found her cold and wet.
She was taken to hospital with mild hypothermia but is expected to make a full recovery.
Six people had taken refuge in a toilet block on the top of one pinnacle on Saturday, as freezing gusts swept across the mountain, along with heavy snowfall.
That night, two hikers called for help after they got lost and were found three hours later sheltering behind some rocks and were taken to hospital with hypothermia.
Tasmania Police Senior Constable Callum Herbert told the ABC the pair were ‘ill-equipped’ for the weather.
Rescuers had to warm the two hikers up with thermal blankets and thermal clothing before they could even consider moving them.
‘They probably only had about 20 minutes left and they wouldn’t have been able to walk and then they may well have perished if emergency services hadn’t been able to get to them,’ he said.
Senior Constable Herbert urged people to reconsider their need to explore this week.
‘We’re expecting very cold weather, rain and some of the season’s first heavy snows in alpine areas,’ he said on Wednesday.
‘While we don’t want to discourage people from spending time outdoors, we do need people to avoid taking unnecessary risks.’
He urged people not to climb to the summit unless they were ‘genuinely experienced’ and with a group of prepared walkers.
‘If you’re not experienced in this sort of environment, you should delay your adventure until the conditions improve,’ he said.
‘If you do decide to go bushwalking or exploring in the snow, please make sure you’re properly prepared – the risks are real.’
Mt Wellington is always much colder than central Hobart but recent conditions on the mountain have seen the temperature drop by as much as 15 degrees.
It comes as Tasmania bears the brunt of the Antarctic ice sheet this winter, with Tuesday bringing the state into almost sub-zero levels, with a minimum of 0.8 degrees recorded.
Senior Constable Herbert urged people not to climb to the summit of Mount Wellington (pictured) unless they were ‘genuinely experienced’ and with a group of prepared walkers
Rescue crews (pictured) endured blizzards and extreme winds to get to trapped hikers on the peaks of Mount Wellington in Hobart on the weekend
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