Overview
- Police say a four-person party alerted rescuers late Monday before two members were airlifted out uninjured overnight.
- Search teams located the missing pair early Tuesday and recovered their bodies around midday as repatriation steps began, according to Inspector Vicki Walker.
- The men were connected by a rope when they fell toward the mountain’s west face, with the drop estimated at about 1,500 feet, helicopter pilot Nigel Gee told local media.
- The New Zealand Mountain Safety Council reported one victim was an internationally qualified mountain guide and the other was his client, while police noted one was a U.S. national.
- Aoraki/Mount Cook’s hazardous glaciated terrain and avalanche risk complicate operations, with more than 240 deaths recorded there since the early 20th century.