Kosciuszko National Park rescue: Hikers detail heartwarming discovery of missing man Hadi Nazari

Hadi Nazari was missing in NSW’s Kosciuszko National Park for 13 days before he was discovered on Wednesday.

About 300 people were involved in a multi-agency search for Nazari but it was three young hikers from the Central Coast and Sydney who first spotted the 23-year-old student as a small dot in the sprawling bushland 10km from the search command post.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Hero hikers detail discovery of missing man.

Tears began to flow as the hikers — James Clark, 28, Josh Dart, 30, and Jess Dart, 29 — rushed towards him.

They had been walking along the main trail when they approached a viewpoint and walked to the edge with a camera to capture some ridge lines down in the valley.

“I saw this little dot sort of moving slowly up the hill. At that point, I think the little dot saw me and started calling out for help, calling out to stay there,” Clark told 7NEWS.

From such a distance, Jess told 7NEWS they “couldn’t initially understand him but as we both tried to get a bit closer ... it sounded like he was saying, ‘Help, I need help’.”

The group rushed down the nearby slope, towards Nazari.

“As we got closer ... he was saying that he didn’t know what the date was, that he hadn’t eaten in weeks,” Josh said.

“We just found our way down this little hill, and he was finding his way up to us, and when we met it was fantastic.

“We just couldn’t believe it. We were just there just for a nice hike and all of a sudden our whole day was made.

“It was really special and we were all just tearing up.”

Jess was the first one to recognise the missing hiker was Nazari, because of his bandana.

“When I got close enough to see him I recognised him from the photo I’d seen that morning actually in the National Parks office — there was a poster of the search for him,” she said.

“I was like ‘Oh my gosh you’re the guy who’s been missing since Boxing Day’, and he’s like ‘Yeah that’s me, I’ve been missing for eight days’.”

But the terrifying ordeal had actually been much longer.

“When I kind of told him, ‘No, it’s been 13 days’, he just fell into my arms and we were both crying.

“I’ll never forget that moment.”

NSW Police Superintendent Andrew Spliet said Nazari had foraged for berries and drank water from a lake, and managed to find two muesli bars in a camping hut.

“That’s pretty much all that he’s had to consume over the last two weeks,” Spliet said.

The three hikers were amazed Nazari survived in conditions they found challenging for just one night.

“(We spent) just one night out here, last night, and ... I was freezing,” Jess said.

“Yeah, we couldn’t last (more than) one night, and he’s lasted 12 or so,” Josh added.

Emotional calls and being winched to safety

The commotion surrounding Nazari’s discovery drew roughly half a dozen other nearby hikers to their position.

That’s when Josh called triple-0, and Nazari was able to call his family.

“It was just so beautiful to hear him talking to his family,” Josh said.

“They were all crying and cheering on the phone,” Jess added.

Police rescue crews arrived soon after and winched down a person to collect Nazari and fly him out, Josh said.

“And we’re just so happy for his family and so happy for him that he’s safe and been rescued,” he said.

Nazari is currently in Cooma Hospital, where he is being treated for dehydration, NSW Health said.

“He is in good spirits and recovering well, and is expected to be discharged within the next few days,” it said.

Nazari also released a statement thanking the hikers, and all the people involved in the rescue efforts.

“I would like to thank everyone who has wished me well in my recovery, and prayed for me,” Nazari said.

“I am very grateful for the rescuers and volunteers involved in searching for me, may God bless them all.

“I cannot thank everyone enough.”