Search and rescue exercise tests Canterbury avalanche response

Canterbury Police, ski industry personnel and SAR groups will take part in a large-scale avalanche response exercise near Mt Cheeseman Ski Area today.
 
Acting Sergeant Paul Beaver, Canterbury Police SAR Coordinator, says there is a danger of avalanche at any time there is sufficient snow on a slope.
 
“Avalanches occur naturally all the time, however in the majority of cases where people get caught in an avalanche they have triggered it themselves. It’s vital that you are aware of the danger and know how to avoid avalanche terrain.
 
“For anyone buried in an avalanche, time is critical and their best chance of survival is a companion rescue, so we encourage people to always carry the right equipment -avalanche transceiver, probe and shovel -  and know how to use them.”
 
Acting Sergeant Beaver says when emergency services are called upon to respond to an avalanche, effective planning and coordination between Police and other emergency services can mean the difference between life and death.
 
“Police formed the Canterbury Avalanche Response Group in 2010 to provide a pool of people with the right skill sets to respond to an avalanche incident.  The group consists of local ski industry organisations, ski areas and guiding operations, Garden City Helicopters and Mt Hutt Helicopters, Methven LandSAR, Arthur's Pass SAR and the LandSAR Alpine and Cliff Rescue team from Christchurch, Mt Cook and Fox.  A similar response group exists in the Mackenzie Basin.
 
"At the same time the Canterbury Avalanche Response Plan was developed by the group.  The exercise today is designed to test the effectiveness of the plan and to assess the groups’ readiness to respond to an avalanche incident."  
 
Dubbed Operation CARE, Saturday’s exercise has been developed by Avalanche NZ (http://www.avalanche.org.nz/) and will simulate a number of people being caught in an avalanche.  Funding for the exercise has been provided by the New Zealand SAR Secretariat (http://searchandrescuecouncil.org.nz/) and New Zealand Police.  
 
Acting Sergeant Beaver said the response, which involves up to 50 people from the avalanche response group, the Wespac Rescue Helicopter and St John Ambulance, will be coordinated by Police.  
 
“We are grateful to all the organisations and individuals that are contributing to the exercise, particularly those who have put in a lot of time into organising it. We hope that the exercise will better enable us to respond swiftly and successfully to an avalanche incident.”
 
ENDS
 
MEDIA ADVISORY
 
• Media are welcome to come to Texas Flat on the Mount Cheeseman access road from 10am on Saturday.
• Media will be able to go to the staging area.
• No media will be permitted on the exercise site for safety reasons, however the flight path to the exercise site will be visible from the access road.
• Images and video of the exercise site will be available following the operation.
 
Contact details: 
 
Police Media Centre
04 238 5111
media@police.govt.nz
 
 
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Information on timeframes for survival if buried in an avalanche is included below.
 
1st phase – The survival phase. This is the absolutely critical first 10 minutes when most people are still alive. 10 minutes should be the target rescue time that companion rescuers try to achieve.
 
2nd phase – The asphyxia phase. From the first phase out to 35 minutes. The majority of people who survive the first 10 minutes die from asphyxia during this phase. This is a crucial phase for companion rescuers as a fast rescue inside this time frame greatly increases survival rates.
 
3rd phase – The latent phase. People who have survived the first 35 minutes now tend to survive for a longer period. This period goes to at least 90 minutes post burial and possibly out to 150 minutes. This is the time period when organised rescue teams can still make a significant difference by getting on site fast while the probability of survival remains higher than the small percentage that survive longer-term.
 
4th phase – The final phase where people succumb to hypothermia complicated by hypoxia and hypercapnia; the triple H syndrome. As a small percentage of people have survived long-term, individuals should be given the best chance of being found alive by continuing rescue efforts until all hope of finding people have been exhausted.