The body of a 54-year-old bushwalker from Queensland has been found in Tasmania's remote south-west. Tasmania Police said the man was found unresponsive by another bushwalker on Saturday on the Western Arthur Range Traverse in the Southwest National Park. Police were notified of a personal locator beacon being activated just after 11am on Saturday, and the rescue helicopter was sent to the area.
"It was discovered that another bushwalker had located an unresponsive man on the track, and he was confirmed deceased," Tasmania Police said in a statement. "The deceased is a 54-year-old man from Queensland, and it appears he was conducting the bushwalk alone."
Police said the man's family had been told of his death, and initial investigations indicated there were no suspicious circumstances. "The matter has been reported to the coroner and further investigations will be undertaken," police said.
The Western Arthur Range Traverse is considered one of Tasmania's most difficult multi-day walks.
Second bushwalking death in a week
The man's death follows the death of a man in his 60s who was bushwalking in Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park last week. That man, an international visitor who was walking alone, was found unresponsive on a walking track near the junction of the Hansons Peak and Twisted Lake track. Police and emergency services were called to the area about 12:30pm on Christmas Day.
Police said preliminary investigations suggested there were no suspicious circumstances, and a report was being prepared for the coroner. On Christmas Eve, two people who had become lost the previous day were rescued near Federation Peak. The two men, aged in their 20s, activated their personal locator beacon about 8pm on Monday. Police said the pair were disorientated and without their equipment that they had left at their campsite. They were found at 5:40am on Christmas Eve. Police said the men were uninjured.
Search controller Senior Constable Cam Rennie said bushwalkers needed to be prepared for all conditions when walking in Tasmania.
