EXCLUSIVE
The hiker who was lost for 13 days in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales has gone into hiding and requested privacy as he aims for a $100,000 media deal to tell his incredible survivor story.
Medical student Hadi Nazari, 23, was rescued from a scenic mountaintop in Kosciuszko National Park on Wednesday.
He was found by other hikers after an intensive 13-day taxpayer-funded search involving a search party of more than 400 people, including police, helicopters and SES volunteers.
A large media presence camped outside Cooma Hospital hoping to speak to the Melbourne man and find out how he survived so long without food or water.
But he has now refused to speak publicly about his ordeal and miraculous escape.
A State Emergency Service representative told Daily Mail Australia that Nazari hoped to sell his story to the highest bidder.
“He wants to pay his college fees and hopes to receive $100,000,” he said.
Instead, he asked police to issue a brief statement thanking rescuers.
Nazari was airlifted to safety after 13 days alone in the bush
Hussain Ali spoke to the media on behalf of his friends.
“I would like to thank all the emergency services staff for their tireless work searching for 13 days in tough conditions to locate me,” his statement read.
“I would also like to thank the public, family and friends for their well wishes and prayers.”
He added: “As I continue to recover, I ask the media for privacy at this time.”
The 23-year-old Melbourne-based neurosurgeon student lost his friends when he went to take photographs along the Hannels Spur Trail between Khancoban and Thredbo in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales at around 2.30pm on the 26th. of December.
He was lost for nearly two weeks in the rugged wilderness until a group of passing hikers spotted him near Blue Lake in the national park around 3 p.m. Wednesday.
Authorities spent approximately $2 million on the search and rescue operation over the two weeks, despite initial criticism from his family about a lack of resources.
His surprise escape from the arid mountain area has been called a miracle and sparked a media frenzy after weeks of reporting on his search, helping to keep hopes alive for him.
The media spent the day waiting at Cooma hospital for Nazari to address the public and thank the emergency services, but was told he wanted privacy.
Nazari surrounded by a group of hikers who found him
Now Nazari hopes to cash in on the interest with an exclusive deal to tell his story.
It has been reported that he survived only on wild berries and two muesli bars that he found in a mountainside cabin and that he appeared to be in incredible condition when he was found.
Several media agents are believed to have approached the family to secure and negotiate the terms of an exclusive television interview since he was found.
Speaking to the media on behalf of his friend outside the hospital, Hussain Ali emphasized that Nazari clearly remembers exactly how he overcame the ordeal.
“He got out of the van and saw me and we were all surprised and shocked by how fit and healthy he was after 13 days,” Ali said, while encouraging interest in him.
‘He remembers everything. “He was telling a story and we told him: be quiet and relax.”
New photos capture the moment hiker Hadi Nazari was found
Hadi Nazari, 23, was found alive after spending 13 days lost in Kosciuszko National Park (pictured)
Ali added that Nazari’s ordeal could even lead to a book deal in the future.
“I was talking to my cousin, that he can write a book, but we haven’t talked properly with him (Mr. Nazari) yet,” he said.
His harrowing experience came to an end Wednesday after he called the group of hikers and explained that he was lost and thirsty.
He was soon taken to safety and assessed by paramedics before reporting to Cooma Hospital that evening as a medical precaution.
Despite surviving only on muesli bars and wild berries, “dehydration and foot blisters” are understood to be Mr Nazari’s main medical concerns.
Although I had hiked abroad before, it was my first time visiting Kosciuszko National Park.