Snowboarder's chilling night

Search for second missing man continues

JOHN KEAST/The Press

SAFE BUT COLD: Florian Guillonneau is helped out of a rescue chopper in Staveley today. The French snowboarder survived a night in freezing conditions on Mt Hutt.

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A 28-year-old French snowboarder is lucky to be alive after surviving a freezing night on Mount Hutt when he became lost on the skifield on Tuesday night.

Florian Guillonneau was lifted out by rescue helicopter at 9.30am today after sheltering in the treeline in the Pudding Stream area near the base of the mountain. He is suffering hypothermia and is being taken by ambulance to Ashburton Hospital.

He has been in New Zealand for one month and is living with his girlfriend in Methven.

Rescuers believe he may have become lost after chasing his snowboard. The alarm was raised at 6pm last night, and search crews worked until 11pm but were unable to find him.

Seven search crews and a rescue helicopter set off at first light this morning, and found the man at 9.30am. In poor conditions, the helicopter lowered a rescuer on a strop to pluck the man to safety.

Meanwhile, a search was continuing for a 56-year-old Nelson man travelling south to Mid Canterbury who has been missing since Monday.

Ian Murray Collins, 56, left Nelson at 11am on Monday bound for Staveley.

Two helicopters took part in the search for Collins, wjo was driving a 1998 Nissan Pulsar sedan with the registration number BMY641.

- © Fairfax NZ News