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A mother and son are rescued after a fall in Arthur's Pass National Park - Source: ONE News -
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A dramatic alpine helicopter rescue has a mother and son counting their blessings.
A three-day tramp ended abruptly after a fall down a sheer drop in Arthur's Pass National Park.
They managed to set off their locator beacon. Without it, they say they could still be out in the snow on Tuesday night.
Andrea Short survived a 200m plunge in very unforgiving terrain. Her fall included impacts with rocks and blocks of solid ice.
Her son, David Short, saw it all.
"She was gone in a matter of seconds and the first thing that went through my head was this might be it for mum," says David.
But somehow Andrea managed to break her fall.
"I was stuck sort of upside down, pack in the ground holding me there and trying to wave to David to tell him I was alright."
David cannot explain what happened next. He jumped after her.
"I have no idea what possessed me to do that. She shot out of sight and I didn't think, I just jumped," says David.
Andrea suffered bruising and a dislocated thumb from the fall.
She attributes her survival to their locator beacon. It took just an hour and a half for the rescue helicopter to find them.
"Arthur's Pass turned horrible in the space of ten minutes," Andrea says.
Her daughter Caroline, who would have only raised the alarm on Tuesday night, shudders at the thought of them spending the night on an icy precipice.
"It would've been freezing," she says.
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