Advertisement
UK markets close in 4 hours 36 minutes
  • FTSE 100

    7,952.37
    +20.39 (+0.26%)
     
  • FTSE 250

    19,862.88
    +52.22 (+0.26%)
     
  • AIM

    743.40
    +1.29 (+0.17%)
     
  • GBP/EUR

    1.1696
    +0.0027 (+0.23%)
     
  • GBP/USD

    1.2615
    -0.0023 (-0.18%)
     
  • Bitcoin GBP

    55,987.34
    +369.71 (+0.66%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • S&P 500

    5,248.49
    +44.91 (+0.86%)
     
  • DOW

    39,760.08
    +477.75 (+1.22%)
     
  • CRUDE OIL

    82.45
    +1.10 (+1.35%)
     
  • GOLD FUTURES

    2,229.80
    +17.10 (+0.77%)
     
  • NIKKEI 225

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     
  • HANG SENG

    16,541.42
    +148.58 (+0.91%)
     
  • DAX

    18,479.74
    +2.65 (+0.01%)
     
  • CAC 40

    8,221.72
    +16.91 (+0.21%)
     

Tourist Describes Month Stranded In NZ Wilderness After Partner Died

A hiker who survived a month lost in freezing conditions in a mountainous area of New Zealand after seeing her boyfriend fall to his death has spoken of her "harrowing" ordeal.

Pavlina Pizova, from the Czech Republic, was rescued from a park warden's hut on the snowed-in Routeburn Track near Queenstown on Wednesday.

She was suffering from frostbite, hypothermia and other minor injuries, but was otherwise in reasonable health.

Ms Pizova and her boyfriend, 27-year-old Ondrej Petr, had intended to hike the full 32km (20-mile) track, and set off on 26 July.

But two days into their trek, Mr Petr fell down a steep slope and died.

ADVERTISEMENT

Ms Pizova spent the next two nights living outside in the freezing wilderness - including one night spent next to her partner's body - before stumbling upon the Lake Mackenzie Hut.

Speaking on Friday about the ordeal, she admitted they made several mistakes: they did not tell anybody their specific plans, they did not take a locator beacon and they underestimated the freezing conditions.

"All these aspects contributed to our tragedy," she said.

"The conditions were extreme. We encountered heavy snowfall and low cloud which contributed to our enforced overnighting in the open," she added.

She said Mr Petr, who was also Czech, died as they tried to find shelter from the freezing conditions.

"In our attempt to reach the hut, the tragic accident happened," she said.

She was speaking about her ordeal, which she described as "harrowing", as rescuers retrieved Mr Petr's body.

Czech Consul Vladka Kennett provided more details of the tragedy.

"Pavlina slipped behind him, and was unable to help him out, and that was it," Ms Kennett said.

"She stayed with him for the first night, beside him, because first of all she wanted to be with him, and she couldn't move any farther due to the weather conditions."

Ms Pizova says she finally found her way to the hut and broke into the warden's quarters through a window.

She says she tried to hike out several times but her frostbitten feet and the avalanches put her off.

Ms Kennett said Ms Pizova had tried tried to make snow shoes, crampons and walking sticks from items she found in the hut - attempts which would impress her rescuers.

But Kennett said she never made it more than a few hundred metres before having to turn back.

She survived nearly a month in the hut on food left behind by the wardens, who do not live there during the winter.

She attempted to get help, marking a letter 'H' in the snow as a signal. But hikers were avoiding the route due to the extreme conditions.

The Czech consulate only raised the alarm on Wednesday as it had taken weeks for family and friends to realise the couple were missing.

A helicopter was sent along the route after police found the couple's car near the start of the track.

Ms Kennett said she does not understand how the hiker managed to survive her ordeal.

"I think she is a really tough woman," she said.

The Routeburn Track is listed among New Zealand's top 10 best walks and is popular with tourists during the Southern Hemisphere summer.

But conditions can become treacherous during winter months, from June until August.

Ms Pizova, who was in New Zealand on a working holiday with her partner, now plans to go back to the Czech Republic as soon as possible.