Kosciuszko hiker Hadi Nazari missing since Boxing Day found alive

Hadi Nazari walked ‘from morning to night’ and sheltered in a hut where he found his only food – two muesli bars – during the 13 days he spent lost in Kosciuszko National Park.

Medical student Hadi Nazari, 23, was last seen about 2.30pm on Boxing Day and found on Wednesday. Picture: ABC

Hiker Hadi Nazari walked “from morning to night” during the almost two weeks he spent lost in Kosciuszko National Park, surviving on two muesli bars he discovered in a hut.

Mr Nazari was found by hikers at 3.15pm on Wednesday off the Kosciuszko circuit walk near Blue Lake, which sits at the centre of the national park and west of the Snowy River.

A NSW PolAir helicopter winched the 23-year-old from the track and took him to a search command post, with paramedics saying he was in “a very remarkable condition” for someone who was missing for so long.

Mr Nazari was last seen after midday on Boxing Day descending the Hannels Spur trail between Khancoban and Thredbo.

Since then, he endured temperatures as high as 36C on January 5 and as low as 7C overnight in late December.

Riverina Police District Commander Superintendent Andrew Spliet said Mr Nazari found a hut to shelter in while he was lost, where he found two muesli bars that were “pretty much all that he’s had to consume over the last two weeks”.

“The circumstances we believe … are that he called out to some hikers who were in the area. He told them he’d been lost in the bush and was thirsty. Those ­people then contacted emergency services,” Mr Spliet said.

“We’re very happy that there’s been a successful result.”

Mr Spliet said Mr Nazari was found 10km in a direct line from where he went missing, and police had not yet determined what he did to stay alive and seek rescue.

“He’s covered a fair bit of ground,” Mr Spliet said.

“It’s really hard to assess how somebody would look after themselves out there in the bush. The details of if he’s been on hiking tracks or how he’s actually got there are something we’ll obviously speak to him about.

Missing hiker Hadi Nazari, 23 (seated) surrounded by hikers who located him off the circuit walk near Blue Lake. Picture: NSW RFS

“It’s a terrain that if you don’t know it, it’s easy to get lost in. We had police up there searching, and you couldn’t even see their heads because of the thick bushland.”

Mr Nazari’s family spoke to him soon after he was found.

“He is OK. He is fine,” a family spokesperson told the Nine Network. “We are very happy. It is the happiest day of our lives.”

Paramedic Adam Mower said Mr Nazari was found in “remarkable condition”, having experienced no obvious harm beyond dehydration.

“He’s in a very remarkable condition for a person that’s been missing for so long,” Mr Mower said at the police command site.

“He was happy, and happy that he was found, and very gracious for the effort that everyone went to find him. We’ve treated him for dehydration and given him a transport to hospital.”

Riverina Police District Inspector Josh Broadfoot said it was “an incredible outcome”.

“He said he’s pretty much just been up and just walking from morning to the night,” Mr Broadfoot said. “He seems amazing. This is the 14th day we’ve been looking for him, and for him to come out in such good spirits and such good condition, it’s incredible.”

Mr Broadfoot expected Mr Nazari would be quickly released from hospital. “One of his friends was in the ambulance with him. He’s with people who love him and care for him. We never gave up hope of finding him, and we are elated we can return him safely to his family,” he said.

Family and rescuers were ecstatic at the safe return of Hadi Nazari. Picture: ABC

Last seen at 2.30pm on December 26, Mr Nazari was expected with two friends at the Geehi campground. Police were first alerted at 8.40pm on December 26, and a command post was set up on December 27. More than 300 people took part in the search.

Rescue crews found a campfire and items confirmed to belong to Mr Nazari near the Geehi River on Tuesday, five days after the discovery of rubbish and hiking poles believed to have belonged to him.

SES Superintendent Matthew Price said there were “big smiles” and a “few surprised voices over the radios” when rescue crews heard the news of his safety.

Mr Nazari’s hiking group, Haz­ara Hikers in Australia, was monitoring search efforts and celebrated his rescue.

Mount Kosciuszko, Australia’s highest peak, is surrounded by dense, alpine vegetation and is a region fraught with sheer drops.