‘Shouting, waving my shirt, screaming’: lost Mount Kosciuszko hiker Hadi Nazari speaks about ordeal for first time

<p>Victorian medical student, 23, says bushfires came so close trees were falling around him, and that he thought authorities would give up the search</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2025/feb/24/australia-politics-live-anthony-albanese-peter-dutton-russia-ukraine-medicare-gap-fee-bulk-billing-senate-estimates-cost-of-living-ntwnfb">Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates</a></li><li>Get our <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=cvau_sfl">breaking news email</a>, <a href="https://app.adjust.com/w4u7jx3">free app</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/series/full-story?CMP=cvau_sfl">daily news podcast</a></li></ul><p>Hadi Nazari, who was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jan/08/missing-hiker-hadi-nazari-found-alive-kosciuszko-national-park">lost in mountainous bushland</a> in New South Wales for 13 days, believed he had been found by rescue helicopter teams only to realise they were fighting nearby bushfires, the hiker has told the ABC.</p><p>The 23-year-old Victorian medical student had set out from Kosciuszko national park’s Geehi camp on 23 December for a four-day hike with two friends, climbing Australia’s highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko, before returning via Hannels Spur on Boxing Day.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/email-newsletters?CMP=copyembed">Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email</a></strong></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/feb/24/shouting-waving-my-shirt-screaming-lost-mount-kosciuszko-hiker-hadi-nazari-speaks-about-ordeal-for-first-time">Continue reading...</a>