A 23-year-old hiker who went missing for nearly two weeks in Australia’s Kosciuszko National Park has been found alive.
Hadi Nazari, who went missing on Boxing Day, stumbled across a group of walkers on the circuit walk near the Blue Lake at around 3.15pm local time on Wednesday, according to police.
Riverina police district commander Andrew Spliet told reporters: “The circumstances we believe at the moment are that he called out to some hikers who were in the area. He told them that he’d been lost in the bush and was thirsty.”
The walkers called emergency services, who winched Mr Nazari to safety. He was assessed by paramedics at the search base camp, located approximately 10km away from where the hikers first encountered him.
He was then taken to hospital for a full check-up before police conducted a full debrief to establish what happened to Mr Nazari and how he survived.
The medical student from Victoria was in “good health”, Mr Spliet confirmed.
Nazari told police he “found a hut up there in the mountains and there were two muesli bars there that he’s eaten,” and he accessed water via several creeks in the area.
Mr Spliet added: “That’s pretty much all that he’s had to consume over the last two weeks. So the further details about where he’s been and how he’s actually looked after himself are still yet to be determined.”
Mr Nazari was first reported missing on 26 December 2024 at 8.45pm local time. He was last seen at 2.30pm descending the Hannels Spur Trail at Geehi, between Khancoban and Thredbo, where he reportedly split from his friends to take some photographs.
He was expected to meet them at the Geehi camp, but when he failed to arrive the two friends began to search for him.
Police launched a search on 27 December, involving other agencies including state emergency services, fire and rescue services and a helicopter.
Searchers found rubbish and hiking poles believed to belong to him near the Kosciuszko River on 31 December. They found a campfire, lighter, camera and a camera bag near the Geehi River on 5 January.
Announcing Mr Nazari’s safety, Riverina Police district inspector Josh Broadfoot said: “This is an incredible outcome, after 13 long days he has been located. We want to thank our emergency services partner agencies, volunteers and members of the public for their assistance.
“We never gave up hope of finding him, and we are elated we can return him safely to his family.”
