Life-Saving Lessons from the Routeburn Track: The Importance of PLBs in the Wilderness

1 lives saved

Hiking

Medical emergency

Mountain

What happened?

On day two of the Routeburn Track, a woman fell 15 metres from a cliff after her backpack struck a rock face, throwing her off balance. We heard her scream from a distance and rushed to help, finding her in severe pain with a broken tibia, significant knee injuries, dizziness, and temporary vision loss. Her group was in shock, unsure how to respond. Luckily, we had three Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) in our group, and we immediately activated the rescueME PLB1 for emergency assistance.

Thanks to the PLB and the swift response of the rescue team, she was stabilized on-site and airlifted to the hospital for urgent surgery. The incident was a powerful reminder of how quickly things can go wrong in the backcountry—and how critical it is to carry a PLB in remote terrain.

Meanwhile, my husband, hiking elsewhere with our daughter, endured two of the most stressful hours of his life, fearing the worst. The relief he felt when the rescue team confirmed the distress call wasn’t for us, but for a fellow tramper, was immense.

This experience reinforced just how essential it is to be prepared when venturing into the wilderness. A PLB can make all the difference in a life-threatening situation.

Words of wisdom

Dont think it wont happen to you!

Thank you note to the Ocean Signal team

The survivor Anne & her husband expressed their sincere gratitude to us & the team behind the development and production of Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs), saying the PLB was truly a lifesaver. We were so grateful to have someone with a device with and to be able to help. Your work quite literally saves lives—thank you for creating such a reliable, essential tool for safety in the outdoors.