Police have located an interstate hiker who went missing while attempting a solo walk in Tasmania’s far south-west.
The man, in his 50s, was reported missing on Thursday night when he failed to return after he was last seen attempting a walk from Cockle Creek on the South Coast Track.
Police said he was found “safe and well”. He was located by a rescue helicopter and airlifted out of the area around 9am on Friday.
Cockle Creek marks the beginning of several walks in the area, including Fishers Cape, South Cape Bay – the southernmost point in Australia – and the seven-day South Coast trek. It is also the southernmost point in Australia that can be reached by car.
It follows the successful rescue of two interstate hikers attempting to hike the Hazards mountain range in the Freycinet national park on Thursday.
Police said the two walkers, in their 20s, were rescued after police were alerted around 5pm Thursday that they were “a “precarious position in steep terrain and were unable to progress”.
A rescue helicopter dropped search and rescue teams into the area, where they looked for the two hikers on foot.
The hikers were rescued in the early hours of Friday morning. Both were uninjured.
It has been a challenging period for search and rescue teams in Tasmania, after three hikers died in separate incidents in the last week of 2024.
A man in his 30s died after falling while climbing Federation Peak, while the other two died in “medical episodes”, according to the police. Both were found unresponsive by other bushwalkers.
In New South Wales, the search for 23-year-old hiker Hadi Nazari, who disappeared while hiking in Kosciuszko national park, has entered its ninth day.
Nazari’s friends raised the alarm on Boxing Day after he did not arrive at the campground where they arranged to meet.
NSW police, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the State Emergency Service, NSW Ambulance and volunteer rescuers have all been searching for Nazari since.
Rubbish and hiking poles believed to belong to Nazari were located late on Tuesday but he is yet to be found.
Police have said he is believed to have a reasonable amount of water as well as camping gear, but is not carrying a personal locator beacon.
