Local Man Killed in New Zealand

A Huntington Beach man fell to his death Monday as he and a friend were being guided over Ball Pass near Mt. Cook, the highest peak in New Zealand, police said.

Paul Gerard Hornack, 44, was walking between a friend and a guide when he lost his balance and plunged 80 feet, landing on a gravelly slope below. His heavy backpack is believed to have contributed to the fall once Hornack lost his footing, said Greg Sutherland, a police constable in nearby Twizel, New Zealand.

Police said Hornack was still breathing and had a pulse when help arrived, but his vital signs faded quickly. He was pronounced dead after rescuers tried for more than 30 minutes to revive him.

Hornack and a friend, Dennis Raymond Richard, also 44, were in the middle of a 10-day hiking trip when the accident occurred in Mt. Cook National Park. It is the height of the climbing season in New Zealand, where it is summer, and the men had completed several treks in the southern area of South Island, authorities said.