They are lost yet they hide away from their rescuers. The reason is that they do not want to dish out money for rescue operations. They retain the false apprehension that New Zealand authorities charge for search and rescue operations. However, it is the Government that pays for search and rescue operations, which are free for tourists.
New Zealand is a perfect destination for adventure travel, all kinds of thrills are available in this land that invented Bungee jumping. Sometimes tourists are prompted to take foolhardy risks. That is why the authorities never tell tourists that they will not be charged for rescue operations before they head out on expeditions. After all rescue operations are expensive, it cost the country $6.5 million for nine thousand people over five years.
Some European countries as well as the US have been know to charge for costly rescue missions, paying upto $3500 for a helicopter. Police did not have figures showing how many tourists had hidden from rescuers.
National search and rescue co-ordinator Senior Sergeant Geoffrey Logan is quoted to have said:
The sooner we get told, the smaller the area is we have to search.
If someone is missing for the time it would take them to walk 1km, we have four square kilometres to search. If the time they have been missing could take them 2km to walk, we have a 16 square kilometre area to search. The area increases exponentially.
Eventually private paid players will have to share the rescuing burden as tourism increases in this beautiful land. For the best rescuer remains the nearest one.
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Via: The Age
