Woman climber badly injured

Press, 11 August 1989, Page 1

Woman climber badly injured

By

CULLEN SMITH

A young woman climber who fell about 16m off a bluff in the Arthur’s Pass National Park was airlifted off Mount Philistine just before dark last evening. Ms Megan Rutherford, aged 20, a student at Otago University, suffered a broken leg, head injuries and concussion in the fall about 3.40 p.m. “We were racing against time to get her off before darkness set in, otherwise she would have spent the night on the mountain,” said Constable Niall Shepherd, of Otira, a member of the rescue party. A Hughes 500 helicopter from Greymouth was used in the rescue. It took a doctor, two climbers and Constable Shepherd to the accident site on the slopes of Mount Philistine.

Constable Shepherd said Ms Rutherford fell down a bluff, bounced off rocks and came to rest at the top of a snow-covered slope. She was with two other climbers making their descent from the mountain when she slipped and fell. Ms Rutherford was flown semiconscious to the Otira ambulance, which was. to transfer her to a Greymouth ambulance to take her to Grey Hospital, Constable Shepherd said. Her climbing companions were also taken off the mountain by helicopter and were staying at Arthur’s Pass.