Two survive nine days in New Zealand blizzard

Alec Brown and Erica Klintworth got trapped for nine days in New Zealand after a snowstorm in a mountain range on the South Island (AP)

Two American students who were trapped in the wilderness by a snowstorm trekked to safety, surviving for nine days by rationing their meagre supply of snacks and keeping warm in hot springs.

Alec Brown and Erica Klintworth, both 21, returned to Christchurch yesterday famished but healthy. The two University of Wisconsin students, who were on a foreign study programme in New Zealand, had planned to hike and camp for a few days in a mountain range on the South Island. But heavy rains and a snowstorm prevented them from being able to cross a river and return.

AP