A group of bushwalkers who became stranded in the remote Tasmanian Highlands overnight after a day walk went wrong will spend another night in the wilderness.
The trio activated a personal locator beacon around 4:30pm on Sunday, alerting emergency services to their situation.
Inspector Michael Johnston said the family, which includes two adults and a child, were “overpowered by the conditions they faced”.
“Authorities were notified that the trio had become lost in snow near Cathedral Mountain and the child was believed to be suffering from hypothermia,” he said.
“The inclement weather conditions meant the Tasmania Police Westpac Rescue Helicopter was not able to fly and a ground crew was organised instead.”
A group of eight police, SES and Ambulance Tasmania personnel walked into the area last night, reaching the bushwalkers around 2:30am on Monday.
“Thankfully with the provision of food and warmth, the child’s condition improved overnight,” Johnston said.
“Challenging weather conditions meant the helicopter was still not able to fly into the area today and walking out was not advisable given the challenges posed by the weather.”
He said additional supplies are being delivered to the group this evening and further trained search and rescue personnel are walking in.
“The situation will be reassessed tomorrow,” Johnston said.
Updated 9:30am, Tuesday July 16: The rescue helicopter has successfully reached the bushwalkers stranded in Walls of Jerusalem National Park.
Tasmania Police said the trio were airlifted from the area a short time ago.
“The helicopter will soon be returning to Walls of Jerusalem to retrieve the search and rescue personnel,” police said.
A second walking party sent in overnight with additional clothing and food was unable to reach the group, after encountering a flooded river about a kilometre from them.
More on this story: Hypothermic family, including 9-year-old boy, rescued from wilderness
