A 23-year-old man who became lost in the Australian wilderness while hiking was found alive by other hikers on Wednesday after living for nearly two weeks on two granola bars and on water from rivers and creeks, the authorities said.
The man, Hadi Nazari, was hiking in Kosciuszko National Park, about 240 miles south of Sydney, when he became lost on Dec. 26, a holiday called Boxing Day in Australia, according to a news release from the New South Wales police.
Two of Mr. Nazari’s friends called the police around 8:45 p.m. on Dec. 26 after he failed to arrive at a campground where they had expected to meet up with him. They had last seen him about six hours earlier as he went off onto the Hannels Spur trail alone. About 400 people searched by air and on land for Mr. Nazari over the course of 13 days, the police said.
Throughout the search, the authorities remained hopeful that Mr. Nazari was alive, as he is an experienced hiker and had camping supplies in the backpack he was carrying at the time he disappeared. On New Year’s Eve, “rubbish and hiking poles” that apparently belonged to Mr. Nazari were found near the Kosciuszko River. On Sunday, his lighter, camera, camera bag and remnants of a campfire he had lit were discovered near the Geehi River.
The location has “incredibly dense bushland and challenging conditions on the ground,” acting Superintendent Jill Gibson of the Riverina Police District said in a statement last week, adding that in some parts of the wilderness being searched, rescuers “can’t see their feet” because of the dense vegetation.
About 3:15 p.m. Wednesday, a group of hikers near Blue Lake, which is about six miles from the campground, found Mr. Nazari, Commander Superintendent Andrew Spliet of Riverina Police District said at a news conference. Mr. Nazari called out to the group as they passed by and told them he was lost and thirsty. The hikers called the emergency services, and Mr. Nazari was then airlifted to a command post to be evaluated by paramedics.
Mr. Nazari had no major injuries and appeared to be in good health, the police said. He was then taken to a hospital to be further assessed and rehydrated.
“We never gave up hope of finding him,” Inspector Josh Broadfoot of the Riverina Police District said in a statement on Wednesday. “We are elated we can return him safely to his family.”
Superintendent Spliet said that Mr. Nazari had found two granola bars in a hut while he was missing but had eaten nothing else. The police believe the creeks and rivers served as his only water source while he was missing, but Superintendent Spliet said they would conduct a full interview with Mr. Nazari to learn more about how he had survived.
Friends met with Mr. Nazari after he had been rescued. One of them, Muhammad Iylas, told a local affiliate of Australian Broadcasting Corporation that he seemed “perfectly fine” for not having eaten much in two weeks.
“I’m kind of like in a shock and full of happiness,” Mr. Iylas said. “It’s amazing.”
