SEPTEMBER 1, 2009

Near-miss for Grand Prix boss

Tim Holding, the Victorian state minister in charge of major events in Melbourne, which includes the Australian GP, disappeared over the weekend while out hiking near Mount Feathertop in the Victorian Alps. He was found on Tuesday morning after a plane spotted a light that he was using to alert rescuers. The minister had slid 100m down the side of the mountain and had ended up on a craggy ridge unable to get back to the path he had been using. He was winched to safety by a rescue helicopter but was found to have nothing more than a few cuts and bruises, despite spending three nights in the open in freezing conditions.