Beacon of hope triggers rescue drama on other side of world

The Yorkshireman was unable to move and totally alone after injuring his knee part-way through a 10-day fishing trip in a New Zealand national park.

There was no mobile phone signal for miles around but the safety-conscious 61-year-old, who emigrated from Ilkley, had been sure to take with him a device he bought in Britain 10 years ago.

Unable to call anyone to explain his plight from the mountains of New Zealand’s Kahurangi National Park, he activated the personal locator beacon (PLB) which started an around-the-world rescue operation.

A radio signal from the tiny device was picked up by a satellite and beamed from space to the UK’s search and rescue centre at RAF Kinloss in Scotland.

The faint mystery signal was then passed to coastguards in Falmouth, Cornwall, who discovered the beacon was registered 10 years ago to a Mr Painter who lived in Yorkshire.

But they had no idea where the distress beacon was sending its emergency message from.

Coastguard records showed Mr Painter’s next-of-kin was his sister-in-law Susan Foster, who lived in Yorkshire, and so, in the middle of the night, coastguards telephoned her to ask if she knew a Mr Painter.

In a slight daze, she replied: “Yes, he’s my brother-in-law. He’s in New Zealand.”

Her few words were enough to trigger a trans-world rescue bid which ended with the retired teacher being plucked from the remote mountains by helicopter – less than two hours after he was stranded.

Ms Foster was able to tell them where her brother-in-law lived in New Zealand and the fact she knew he had just started a fishing holiday alone in the national park.

“We were able to contact our rescue colleagues in New Zealand and explain we knew there was an emergency in their area and that Mr Painter was in trouble somewhere and needed help,” said a Maritime Coastguard Agency spokesman.

Peter Bullard, watch manager at Falmouth Coastguard station, in Cornwall, said his colleagues were first aware of a problem at 11pm last Wednesday and were able to rapidly track where the alert had come from because the beacon had been correctly registered by Mr Painter while he was still in the UK.

“We were speaking to our New Zealand colleagues about six or seven minutes after the alert was received,” he added.

“They dispatched a helicopter from the town of Nelson, on the northern tip of South Island, into the mountains near Karamea, where Mr Painter was lying and unable to move.”

Mr Painter, who is now recovering at his home and walking with aid of crutches, said he had taken care to plan his fishing trip and initially thought his knee injury was not too serious.

“The route into my destination, the Karamea Bend hut, was first established as a gold mining access track and passes through heavily forested hillsides and bush.

“Whilst descending towards Karamea via the Leslie track I sustained an injury to my knee which, although uncomfortable, did not hamper me continuing. My intention was to reach the Karamea bend hut and rest.

“However, at 7.30pm – about one hour from the hut – I stumbled and was in considerable pain.

“I assessed my position to be close to a large clearing known as the Leslie clearing – the sight of the Leslie hut which burned down a few years ago – and a place where a helicopter could land.

“Unable to stand I crawled around erecting my emergency tent.

“The following day I assessed my situation and options in accordance with the weather and decided to set off my PLB.

“I bought this PLB 10 years ago but since immigrating to NZ I had not updated any of the contact information. This resulted in the coastguard at Falmouth being alerted.

“One hour and 20 minutes later a rescue helicopter landed and I was being attended to by a paramedic.”

Ms Foster paid tribute to the UK Coastguard team and the speed with which they managed to trace her brother-in-law.

“They were exceptional – and I shall be writing to the authorities to tell them so.

“I am eternally grateful to them all,” said the 61-year-old.

“During the two hours between the first phone call with a cheery voice from Falmouth and hearing that they had found Chris, I wondered all sorts of things.

“Would they be able to find him – and would he still be alive? It was a tremendous effort by everyone”

“We take technology for granted but it is a wonderful thing and certainly saved Chris. He is very active and I don’t doubt he will be embarking on another fishing expedition as soon as he has recovered. I am sure he will take his PLB with him again.”