Expert highlights missed opportunity to descend before Wellington woman s death on Indian trek stuff.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stuff.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Katarina Williams05:00, May 01 2021
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Janet Nye, pictured here at Waitarere, a few months before her October 2018 trekking death in Ladakh, India.
The man who led a trekking trip to India, in which a Wellington woman died after developing acute mountain sickness, concedes the “window” to help her descend from high altitude in the hours before she died was missed. But despite being appointed to lead by the trip organiser, the Mountain Clubs of New Zealand (FMC) Travel Club, Joe Nawalaniec insists “ultimate responsibility” didn’t rest with him. For Wellington nurse and avid tramper, Janet “Jan” Nye, 68, the journey of a lifetime in 2018 became a journey that ultimately ended her life.
Nye, a 68-year-old Wellington woman, died on October 6, 2018, after developing altitude sickness while on the now-defunct Federated Mountain Club s (FMC) Travel Club trek to Ladakh.
While Nye s death occurred overseas, her family raised concerns about the circumstances with the New Zealand Coronial Services Unit and the Ministry of Justice. Coroner Peter Ryan was assigned to investigate.
Experienced mountaineer Joe Nawalaniec acted as the trip leader, working with local guiding company Haya Himalaya.
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The Indian region of Ladakh, where the ill-fated New Zealand trekking trip visited.(Patrick Whittle/Stuff)
When recounting his version of events, day two s opening witness, trekker Roger Young, said Nawalaniec addressed the remaining group members at a dinner just hours after Nye s passing.
ROSA WOODS/Stuff
Coroner Peter Ryan on day one of the inquest into Janet Nye’s death in India in 2018. “He did not once mention Jan’s name, acknowledge her passing, nor mention the circumstances of her death,” Young said. In the days following, Nawalaniec was asked by a group member, “how the fatality occurred”. “Joe replied that ‘it was Jan’s fault. She made some bad decisions and they cost her her life’. His response distressed us terribly,” Young said. A “keen tramper” from Christchurch, Young repeated claims made by fellow group member Karen “Debbie” Hogan on Wednesday that there had been significant concerns about how the trip was going prior to Nye’s death.