A MAN found naked in the snow at Falls Creek appeared to have stripped off because he was experiencing symptoms of hypothermia, police say.
The South Korean was discovered groaning outside a chalet early yesterday with a remarkably low body temperature.
Dr Dominic Blanks, who treated the man at the Falls Creek Medical Centre, said the international worker was exceptionally cold.
“Initially he had a temperature of 24.5C,” Dr Blanks said. “Normal starts about 36 and anything below 30 is quite severe hypothermia.
The man, who could not talk when he arrived in a semi-conscious state, was found in snow below a chalet about 4.30am after residents of the guesthouse heard his groans.
Detective Sen-Constable Justin Schulze said the Korean, 21, was naked when discovered.
“That’s what happens when you get hypothermia — you think you’re hot so you take off all your clothes,” Sen-Constable Schulze said.
Police believe the man became disoriented, but it’s unclear exactly what led to his discovery.
“To reach the temperature he did, we would expect him to be exposed to the elements for an extended period of time,” Sen-Constable Schulze said.
“When he was first located, his injuries were life-threatening.”
Dr Blanks said the man, who was wrapped in space blankets, only started shivering as his temperature rose and he was then put in an induced coma and taken by ambulance to Albury hospital just before 7am.
Last night, a spokeswoman for Albury Wodonga Health, Catherine O’Connell said the man was still in intensive care but he was “very stable and improving all the time”.
She said he had recovered his core temperature quickly after he was admitted to hospital.
“Doctors don’t anticipate any problems with his recovery,” Ms O’Connell said.
She said the man was likely to remain in the intensive care unit overnight and she expected him to be in hospital for a couple of days.
Sen-Constable Schulze said the case highlighted the dangers of cold temperatures, with the overnight wind chill low hitting minus five degrees.
“Hypothermia is a real danger that a lot of people don’t understand and they just think because it’s Australia you’re not going to suffer the same problems as other places,” he said.
Senior intensive care paramedic Patrick Gleeson said the man’s core temperature of only 24 degrees was not typically seen in Australia.
“The only time that these sort of temperatures are recorded in patients who have survived are perhaps in Europe, Canada and the United States,” Mr Gleeson said.
Mr Gleeson said his body would have started to shut down at such a low temperature.
“Anything under 28 degrees is considered an emergency and a life-threatening situation, so this man’s condition was perilous.”
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