Location of incident: Copeland Valley

Incident type: Missing person

A Search & Rescue operation was launched last night at approximately 9.30pm after police received information of an injured tramper at the Horace Walker Hut south of the Copland Valley.
The injured man was Mathew Briggs from Middlemarch.
The alarm was raised by two hunters who were at the hut when Mr. Briggs arrived. The two hunters then walked 13hrs out to an address south of Fox Glacier to call emergency services.
It is understood that Mr. Briggs fell down a bluff eight days prior and realising his chances of being rescued were low, decided to walk to the Hut despite a suspected broken ankle, broken wrist and a deep lacerations.
The Solid Energy Rescue helicopter based at Greymouth was initially tasked to fly in at night using night vision goggles but due to cloud and the remote location of the hut this was postponed until early this morning.
Mr. Briggs spent the night in the hut accompanied by his dog, and has now been flown to Greybase Hospital for treatment.
'Mr Briggs certainly has some excellent bush and survival skills and a lot of the correct equipment, but let himself down but not providing sufficient details of his intentions. Persons heading into the hills for any period, be it a short tramp or major trip need to leave detailed intentions with a responsible person outlining their route, and the date they are due out at the very least'.