A group of 13 people, including children, had to be rescued from the summit of Kunanyi-Mt Wellington, near Hobart, in temperatures that dropped to -21.6C in the wind. While authorities were trying to reach the group at the summit, they stumbled upon another unprepared group of five trying to descend the mountain.
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00:00In blizzard-like conditions, a rescue team prepares to embark on the next phase of their
00:08mission to the summit of Kunani Mount Wellington.
00:12Particularly on the pinnacle, conditions can change very quickly and are deadly if you
00:17get caught without the right equipment.
00:20Hours earlier, a group of 13, including three children, had set off on a daytime bushwalk
00:26despite dangerous conditions and road closures on the mountain.
00:30They were ill-prepared, they didn't have appropriate clothing, they didn't have food.
00:34With winds exceeding 100km an hour, they took shelter in the summit's observation hut before
00:40calling for help late in the afternoon.
00:42It's incredibly disappointing to see the totally irresponsible decision of a group of people
00:47to engage in bushwalking activities on Mount Wellington yesterday.
00:52By nightfall, the apparent temperature was minus 20 degrees and as rescuers made their
00:58way in the darkness, they encountered a second group of five tourists.
01:02They were in very exposed conditions and they brought those people down immediately as soon
01:07as they found them and then went on to rescue the bigger group.
01:13The five-hour operation comes two years since nine bushwalkers had to be rescued from the
01:18summit during freezing conditions.
01:20Authorities furious they've had to divert resources again at a time of state-wide weather
01:26emergencies.
01:27Warnings that authorities are imploring people not to ignore.