Otago Hero's - Congratulations to Wanaka Search and Rescue

Thanks to Phil Melchior from Wanaka SAR who sent us an amazing image of the volunteer team who braved extreme conditions to rescue Australian soldier Terry Harch from the Bonar Glacier in mid-winter.  The incredible team at Wanaka SAR was recently awarded a Certificate of Achievement by the NZ Search and Rescue Council for this rescue.

This is the third time Wanaka SAR's work has been recognised with awards from NZSAR - the Government body encompassing all Government and non-government agencies involved in broadly defined search and rescue, including Coastguard and Surf Life Saving. The Wanaka team have also twice won the Supreme Award from LandSAR NZ, which is awarded only for exceptional action.

The Harch Operation was particularly challenging, with the Alpine rescue team of Davie Robinson, Anthea Fisher, Lionel Clay and Rich Raynes battling bad weather, very poor visibility, and extreme avalanche danger. When Terry Harch was found, he was in the mid-to-late stages of rapidly advancing hypothermia, needing urgent medication and action to restore his body temperature. Incapable of moving himself, and with the weather too bad to allow helicopter extraction, he was dragged down the glacier on stretcher to a safe place away from avalanche danger where the team established a camp capable of maintaining them and Harch for several days if necessary. The team - all experienced in trauma medicine and holding advanced 'pre-hospital emergency care' certificates - continued to work on the patient overnight. The next day, the weather cleared enough to allow evacuation.

The publicity attracted by major rescues such as the Harch operation, often overlook the fact that the people at the sharp end are volunteers, who are in many cases self-employed and are thus losing wages for the hours and days in which they are out seeking to save a life. In this case, the search and rescue ran over four days, and involved more than 15 Wanaka SAR volunteers.

Phil highlights Wanaka SAR are wholly dependent on grants and donations, and would like to acknowledge the Otago Community Trust for its consistent support over many years.