Chile snowstorm survivor says they had to help themselves

Survivors of a snowstorm in Patagonia which killed five people including a British woman have said local authorities did not offer enough help.

Victoria Bond, 40, from Cornwall, was among those killed in the tourist hotspot of Torres del Paine National Park in Chile.

Christian Aldridge, who was part of the hiking group, said they had to organise their own rescue party to search the mountain and locate their friend.

Chile’s National Forestry Corporation had said it had ordered an internal investigation “to determine any potential liability”. The BBC has approached Chilean authorities for further comment.

Mr Aldridge, from Newquay, said the conditions during the storm had been “really rough and freezing”.

The group he was part of had tried to keep moving, but no-one came to rescue them, he said.

“I was shocked,” he said. “I went and spoke to the staff personally and said, ‘We’re missing a friend, we think she’s still on the mountain, you need to get a search party’.”

Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font said search and rescue teams had worked in “intense” snowfall and winds reaching 118mph (190km/h), while the Chilean forestry corporation said its priority was relocate people who had been in the park’s “O” circuit hiking route.

However, Mr Aldridge said park staff “didn’t seem to take it seriously”.

“They moved us aside and said they needed to check in new guests and get dinner ready,” he said.

Mr Aldridge said the group ended up having to hike out of the park over three days despite being injured.

“We’re sleep-deprived, shocked, traumatised, and grieving,” he said.

“We were like, ‘Why are we not getting the help? Why are we not getting evacuated from this place?’.”

Jack Gunter and Sophie Collier, a couple from London caught up in the snowstorm, said communication from park officials had been “absolutely horrific”.

Ms Collier, originally from Devon, said people had paid a lot of money to do the trip and tickets to the park were “harder than getting Glastonbury tickets”.

“The [Chilean] government knows people are prepared to pay the money and they’re not doing anything or investing in the route or the safety of the people,” she said.

Chile’s forestry corporation said it “deeply regretted the incident and it was sending its solidarity to the families of the deceased”.

It said it was reviewing “the safety and communication protocols in the park’s circuits together with the concessionaires, with the aim of strengthening prevention and emergency response capacity”.