00:00All right, so a multi-agency search has resumed today for a bush wolf missing in the Kosciuszko National Park.
00:05Huddy Nazirik, Police Slack 23, was last seen about 2.30am on Thursday,
00:11descending the Hannover Spurs Trail and G5 between Cairngover and Thredbo.
00:15So officers attached to the river in a police district were notified about 8.45pm at night
00:19and commenced patrols in a vehicle and on foot, assisted by SES, but without success.
00:24The following day we established a command post and a multi-agency response has commenced
00:29involving Goulburn Police, NSW Police Rescue, VRA, SES,
00:35Rural Fire Service, National Parks and Wildlife Service and specialist resources
00:40including POLAIR from across NSW.
00:42We're currently still searching the areas, utilising specialist resources
00:47including specially trained bushwalkers, volunteers from VRA and SES
00:53who we've airlifted into rugged and remote areas to try and increase our capability to search those areas.
01:00What's one of the biggest challenges about searching this area?
01:03So it's part of the most rugged terrain in NSW.
01:07It's very steep, it's very vegetated and it's quite remote.
01:11So we've set up increased communications to increase our capability there.
01:16The heat is also an issue, but can I just say that the volunteers
01:21and the staff which have attended have been amazing
01:25and the way in which they just put themselves out there every day
01:29trying to find hardy is so amazing.
01:33How many volunteers are there?
01:35There's at least 38 people on patrol in the region at the moment.
01:42So it's not handling search areas at this moment, it's not near the search areas
01:46but we're monitoring that and working with RFS, we're putting a lot of resources into that fire.
01:51How many volunteers are assisting?
01:53So depending on the day.
01:55So yesterday we airlifted 28 volunteers into a higher capacity area
02:01so taking them 1600 metres above where the current command post is
02:05and then they've worked their way down in a grid pattern
02:09so searching those areas that we think that hardy might be.
02:12Is there a particular mountain that identified as where he's likely to be?
02:17A mountain?
02:18Like in the region?
02:20So we start at the area where he was last seen
02:25and then work with rescue coordinators who are trained in looking at
02:29where the probability of his path of travel being.
02:32So we're extending those searches today.
02:35We have officers from the Royal Crime Investigators Unit
02:39who are assisting on horseback along with volunteers from the local area.
02:43So they're doing some lower country areas
02:46and then we have specialist resources from VRA, SES and AFP
02:51as well as search and rescue operators attached to the New South Wales Resource.
02:55Is there any idea of how long the group got separated?
02:58Was there a set up to put them together?
03:01Yeah, I think Hardy was enjoying nature which is terrific.
03:07There's some terrific footage of him up there.
03:10He's obviously well resourced which gives us a really good hope
03:15and I think they just got separated.
03:18Do you know what he had with him at the time then?
03:22Did he have a beacon?
03:23No, he did not have a beacon with him at the time that we're aware of
03:26and none has been activated in the area.
03:29The camping gear which he had shows that he had a reasonable amount of water.
03:34We have camping tents, poles and adequate clothing that increases our hopes.
03:42Police say that Mr Nazari is an experienced hiker.
03:46What do the police say to this?
03:48So speaking with the family, his friends and previous hikes that he's done in the area
03:53and before he immigrated to Australia he's conducted hikes like this previously.
03:58So has he done these hikes before?
04:00I'm not sure.
04:02How are his family and friends coping?
04:04We have actually a lot of friends who have attended the campsite, our command post,
04:09and they're assisting in some lower ground area searches
04:13and we're in constant contact with his family back in Melbourne.
04:17How close was the fire to the track or to the walk that they were doing?
04:22Exactly close enough.
04:24What are the plans for the search as the week goes on?
04:27Will the search continue?
04:30Is there any chance of scaling it back?
04:32The search is definitely continuing.
04:35We're dedicating resources to this, working with our volunteer agencies and specialist resources
04:40and we're projecting it into next week and dedicating those resources to that.
04:48And what about dedicating more resources?
04:52There is an opportunity to ramp up its availability of staff
04:56and because a lot of these organisations that have the specialist capabilities are volunteers,
05:02we're very grateful that we have more volunteers available.
05:06But the volunteers we do have are amazing.
05:11They are specially trained for this type of terrain.
05:14It's not just like going for a walk up a hill.
05:17It's dense bushland with high altitude and scaling it is very difficult.
05:25So placing anybody into that area can also hamper the search efforts.
05:29So making sure that the resources that we are using are specially qualified
05:33and are managed through the command post is something that we definitely say.
05:39So if people want to turn up to the area, report to the command post,
05:43don't do anything off your own back.
05:46The area is rugged and easy to go up there without no climbing.
05:53Are there any concerns about the weather conditions over the next week or so as the search is continuing?
05:59Very definitely.
06:01Obviously we've got concerns for a hardy, but we also have concerns about our staff.
06:05So that's why we're applying.
06:07We have medical teams on standby at the command post.
06:10We have specialist water resources including Hydrolite
06:16making sure that there's adequate food and water for all our search teams up there as well.
06:22Have you found any signs of him at this point?
06:25At this point we've had no indications of where he is apart from the last load sighting.
06:32And how far was that sighting from where the...
06:35I believe it was 3.5km from the G5 campgrounds.
06:38Okay.
06:39Are police still not ruling out anything including foul play?
06:43At this stage there's no indications of foul play.
06:45We're not treating it as suspicious.
06:47We're treating this as a missing person.
06:49How long was the hike that they were on?
06:51Was it a day's long?
06:52No, definitely.
06:53I don't know any such details.
06:57Have there been any fires during the search effort so far that are hindering efforts?
07:03No.
07:04Or has it been fairly good weather?
07:06No.
07:10Is there any concern about more fires sparking if this does go on another few days
07:17with the weather heating up more?
07:20With the weather heating up obviously there are concerns for the fires.
07:23But we have specialist resources in the area which we're using FLIR technology
07:28which utilises heat signatures.
07:31So RFS and National Parks are doing an amazing job with their resources there.
07:35We are capably qualified and we're looking at all avenues.
Comments