by Dave Courtney and Tara Ross

A Korean student has survived a three-day ordeal trapped in a car beside his three dead or injured friends only meters from State Highway 1 near Cheviot.

The car was discovered down a bank beneath the road, by a highway patrolman yesterday after family members of the group raised the alarm Monday night.

The other Koreans were dead when rescuers reached the scene. They were Kwand Tae Lee, 17, and Soul Gung Choi, 18, both male students, and Seul Ki Lee, 16 a female student.

The parents of the three dead students are expected to arrive in Christchurch today.

The group was returning to Christchurch from a fishing trip to Kaikoura on Saturday when the car missed a bend and was airbourne for about 20m before smashing into a willow tree. Its position beneath branches from the tree and below a culvert passing under the road meant it was not visible to passing motorists.

While he was trapped, the student was exposed to wind and rain on Saturday and Sunday and then to snow and freezing temperatures on Monday night.

Police said the survivor was "extremely lucky" first to have survived the crash and then not ot have died in the severe conditions afterwards.

The survivor, who sat in the front passenger seat in the Toyoya Camry, is in a serious but stable condition in Christchurch Hospital with a broken arm, and facial, neck and head injuries.

St John paramedic Glenn Cockburn, who attended the scene, said the survivor was unconscious when he was taken from the car.

"He was wearing warm clothing, including a woolen jersey. When we got to him his body temperature was just below normal.

"(But)" his chances of survival would have been severely diminished if he had to spend another night there. The policeman did a good job to find him," Mr Cockburn said.

Outdoor safety consultant Ray Goldring said the roof of the car would have protected him from rain and dew and he was warmly dressed. If he was able to stay in a seat it would have insulated him from the cold and he would also have had access to other clothing and covers in the car, Mr Goldring said.

His injuries would have caused potentially fatal shock but this varied according to the severity of injuries.

The impact of the shock would have been ameliorated if the student had been able to tilt his seat back and to elevate his legs.

Police believe speed might have been a factor in the accident.

The roof of the car was cut off by emergency services to get to the trapped survivor and three victims.

Sergeant Rene Pabst said highway patrol staff saw the car after they noticed a fence above the accident site had been knocked down, and brancheds of the willow tree at road level had been snapped.

Tyre marks led off a 10m-high bank and straight toeards the tree the car eventually hit.

Mr Pabst said autopsies would determine if the victims had died immediately or some time after the accident.

The accident would be the subject of a Coroner's Court inquest.

Andres Yoon, a long-time Christchurch resident and secretary of the city's Korean Society, confirmed the victims were all foreign students.

One boy was enrolled at a Christchurch English language school, while the boy who owned the car was studying at Linwood College. He has been in Christchurch for two years. The girl was a boarder at St Andre'w College.

The surviving boy, who is a student at Canterbury University, is a New Zealand permanent resident.

"I heard that (he) was the only one with a seat belt on," Mr Yoon said.

Andres Suh, the guardian of the 17-year-old who owned the car, said the boy had gone to Kaikoura with his friends on Saturday afternoon without telling his homestay parent where he was headed.

"He was supposed to be back here on Sunday because he had to go to school on Monday. But on Monday morning he didn't come back so I was nervous. I tried to have contact with him (on his cellphone) but I was not able to."

Linwood College found out about its student's death - and the fact he had gone to Kaikoura - only late yesterday.

Mr Suh said the father of the surviving boy also tried to contact his son by cellphone, without success, and was the one who raised the alarm with police.

The surviving boy was a tutor for Linwood College student, and Mr Suh encouraged their friendship because "he's a very good guy".

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