French woman named as third dead Makarora tramper
Friday, 28 February 2020
The third tramper who died tramping in the Makarora area of Otago following heavy rain was a 20-year-old woman.
Police named the tramper on Friday as Ashwini Rasiwala, of France.
Rasiwala's family were 'understandably grieving' and had requested privacy, police said.
Her body was found in the Makarora River on February 8.
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Police found the body of Dunedin student Kevin Kum Fike Lee, 22, nearby a day later.
The pair had been tramping together in Mt Aspiring National Park and were not believed to be part of a wider group.
On February 10, friends reported that British backpacker Stephanie Simpson was overdue for a tramp in the same area.
Her body was found in a canyon near Pike Creek four days later.
Severe weather in the region at the time of the deaths wreaked havoc and caused a state of emergency to be declared in Southland.
MetService records show 64 millimetres of rain fell in the Makarora River area on February 4, which could have caused high river swells.
The heavy rain seriously damaged several tracks in the Fiordland and Mt Aspiring areas and the Milford and Routeburn tracks remain partially closed.
The Milford Rd remains seriously damaged and tourist buses can only access Milford Sound via convoys.