Emergency crews have rescued four hikers that were stranded in snow in the Kosciuszko National Park during the early hours of Monday morning.
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The hikers were almost three kilometres from Charlotte's Pass on the Blue Lake Walk in the national park, when the group became disorientated in the near-freezing conditions.
The four hikers - a 25-year-old, a 27-year-old and two 23-year-olds - set out on the walk at 1pm on Sunday but became lost about 9pm due to deteriorating conditions and poor visibility.
The group then called triple zero, with NSW Fire and Rescue, along with ambulance and police crews, responding to the call just before midnight.
It took crews several hours to find the lost hikers, after rescue efforts were briefly stopped due to a snow drift on tracks preventing motorbikes and an ambulance from being used.
The crews then had to walk on foot for one kilometre in order to reach the hikers, who were found about 1am on Monday.
Temperatures at the time of the rescue had dropped as low as 2 degrees, with winds of up to 40km/h.
The hikers were led back to safety and were assessed by paramedics at the scene but none sustained any injuries and were able to return to their accommodation.
Monaro police district detective inspector Neil Grey urged hikers to stick to designated hiking tracks.
"Bad weather and snow cloud can very quickly disorientate even the most experienced of hikers," Detective Inspector Grey said.
"It's vital for hikers to carry an [emergency beacon] to narrow down their location when phone reception is poor and weather is rapidly deteriorating.
"If it weren't for the quick response by our emergency services, this could have ended badly."
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