Lost New Zealand hikers rescued after surviving on puddle water for 19 days

Two hikers have been rescued from a national park in New Zealand after the duo survived 19 days by drinking puddle water to stay alive. Dion Reynolds and Jessica O'Connor were on a five-day camping trip in Kahurangi National Park, home to the shooting location for the "Mines of Moria" in the film Lord of the Rings, but got lost in a heavy fog.

Speaking to Radio New Zealand, Reynolds said that they decided to camp at a place and wait for help after they got disoriented due to the fog which lasted three days. The duo eventually ran out of food supplies and had to depend on a fresh mossy stream, at a two minutes’ walk across the gully, which kept them alive.

The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) supported the Police and New Zealand Land Search and Rescue Inc. (LandSAR) for a week in the search for the two before rescuing them on May 27. Reynolds said that a helicopter flew within 50 metres but failed to spot them, with Flight Lieutenant Loic Ifrah corroborating the story saying he could barely see the pair despite knowing their approximate location.

“It was a pretty incredible spot by the crew, and of course a pretty big effort by the LandSAR and NZ Police, it was pretty impressive to watch it all unfold,” said the Flight Lieutenant in a statement.

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'Hadn't given up'

After the pair were rescued from the National Park, they were given chocolate bars by the crew during the flight, said NZDF. Ifrah said there were lots of emotions after the pair were on board the helicopter and flown to waiting ambulances.

“We hadn’t given up obviously otherwise we wouldn’t have poured our efforts into it, but as time went by and bad weather in the area, thoughts do turn to the worst. That adds to the sense of relief and euphoria,” he added.

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