A woman has died and a group of Chinese tourists have been rescued after setting out on a hike ‘unprepared’ for Australia’s extreme weather.
The group were suffering from the cold and experiencing other difficulties when another group of hikers found them at Cradle Mountain on Friday afternoon, Tasmania Police said.
The second group contacted emergency services but extreme weather prevented authorities from deploying a helicopter to the area.
Rescuers went in to find them on foot and camped with the group overnight until they could make their way back out on Saturday morning.
One woman was confirmed dead. The others were not physically injured.
The hikers did not have the appropriate equipment or a personal locator beacon, so they could not raise the alarm, Tasmania Police Inspector Steve Jones said.
‘Unfortunately, they were not prepared for bushwalking and found themselves overwhelmed by the extreme weather conditions,’ he said.Â
‘Tasmania’s weather can change very quickly, particularly in the alpine areas.Â
A woman is dead and others have been rescued from remote wilderness after a group of Chinese tourists set out for a hike unprepared for extreme weather (rescuers are pictured)
The hikers did not have the appropriate equipment or a personal locator beacon, so they could not raise the alarm (pictured, rescue crews are seen at Cradle Mountain)
It comes after a woman’s body wad found in a popular lake in the Hobart hinterland
‘This means there are times such as this when we can’t deploy the helicopter and it takes time for a ground search and rescue team to walk into remote areas.’
Bushwalkers in the Tasmanian wilderness are urged to carry warm clothing, food, water, a charged phone, a map, emergency communication devices and other equipment at all times.
It comes after a woman’s body wad found in a popular lake in the Hobart hinterland.Â
Tasmanian Police have cordoned off a section of the Hobart Rivulet.Â
Police were called to the scene at about 4.30pm on Friday after a hiker, who was walking along the rivulet track, made the grim discovery.
It is understood the woman, believed to be in her early 30s, is yet to be identified.Â
The circumstances surrounding her death remain unclear.Â
An investigation is now underway.
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Hiker dies after ‘unprepared’ tourist group got caught in extreme weather at Tasmania’s Cradle Mountain