25 Jun 2009

West Coaster survives Arctic storm

8:26 am on 25 June 2009

A West Coast man has survived three days in minus 80 degrees in the Arctic circle with no food or shelter.

Jake Gibbons from Karamea, north of Westport, lost both feet and a hand, and is in hospital in Sacramento, California.

He was caught in a storm while working near Summit Camp, the highest point on the Greenland ice cap, in April.

Mr Gibbons told Morning Report he was determined to survive. He expects to take several weeks to learn to walk again, before he heads to work in Antarctica.