The Alpine Rescue team managed to airlift one climber off Mt Cook at 6am this morning however the second man retrieved an hour later was already deceased. Families in Japan have been notified.
The first man off has been named as Hideaki NARA aged 51. The deceased man is Kiyoshi IKENOUCHI aged 49. Both men are from Tokyo.
Hideaki Nara managed to walk from the helicopter to the Search and Rescue base at Mt Cook Village. He is not hypothermic but is very cold and has frost bite to his ears, nose and face, otherwise he is in good condition. He will be airlifted soon to Christchurch Hospital for further treatment
The body of Kiyoshi Ikenouchi was retrieved at 7.00.
Constable Brent Swanson says that the tent is believed to have blown away sometime after the bag was dropped on Wednesday at 13.15 hours. The men would have been in the open since the tent blew away. Both men were well prepared.