Four cavers who were part of the group reported missing last night near Nelson are being walked out by search and rescue specialists, while an injured man is being taken to hospital via helicopter.
The group of five people reported overdue from the Motueka Valley caving trip were found by a search team this morning.
The injured man is said to have moderate injuries.
A statement from police said the group were from a local school, made up of three students (two male, one female) and two teachers (one female, one male).
"They were prepared and are competent and experienced cavers," the statement said. "The group made the right decision to stay with the injured man until searchers arrived."
Police were notified at 9.41pm yesterday that the group were overdue from a caving trip in the Motueka Valley.
The rescue team went into the cave system overnight and found the group at 5am today in the underground camp called, 'Salvation Hall' in Nettlebed Cave.
"They had to walk for about two hours to reach the cave entrance and there was a further 2.4km journey through the caves before they reached the group."
They had been on a trip in the Pearse Valley Rd area.
SHARE ME