Japanese climber rescued after week on mountain

Rescuers in New Zealand plucked a Japanese climber alive from the country’s highest mountain today, but his companion was found dead.

The pair were identified as Tokyo residents Hideaki Nara, 51, and mountain guide Kiyoshi Ikenouchi, 49. They had been trapped for a week by atrocious weather on an exposed ledge of the Empress Plateau, above 12,000ft (3,700m) on Aoraki, also known as Mount Cook.