A father and son who had to be airlifted to Hong Kong for emergency medical treatment after their Central Asian hunting trip ended in disaster, yesterday spoke of their ordeal after arriving home in the United States.
Dennie Spann and his son, William, from Dickson County, Tennessee had to be flown to Hong Kong after they were injured when an avalanche swept them away in Kyrgyzstan and a rescue helicopter airlifting them out of the snow-bound area crashed, killing two people on board.
The drama began on March 13 after American big-game hunters Mr Spann, 65, his son William, 41, Canadian cameraman Clay Lancaster, 32, and their party of 24 had completed nearly two weeks of hunting in Kyrgyzstan when they were caught in a blizzard.
The former Soviet republic is bordered by China to the east, Kazakhstan to the North, Uzbekistan to the west and Tajikistan to the south.
As their supplies ran low, a rescue helicopter sent for them crashed soon after take-off with the hunting party inside, rolling over several times and killing two people. The accident happened close to the town of Naryn, and the pair were treated at its nearby provincial hospital.
An initial attempt by Medjet Assistance - a private firm that provides medical transport to travellers around the world - to evacuate the North American trio to Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek, on March 18 failed after their road convoy was hindered by avalanches and had to return to Naryn.
It was not until March 20 that the roads to Bishkek were clear enough for the Spanns to make their way to the capital.