A multi-agency rescue effort was launched to find Nazari, including searchers crawling through dense bushland and multiple helicopter patrols flying above the challenging terrain.

The 23-year-old was found by hikers about 3pm on Wednesday near Blue Lake in Kosciuszko National Park, NSW Police said. Source: Supplied / ABC News

He was located on Wednesday by hikers on a circuit walk near Blue Lake in the national park and winched from the location to the command post, where he is being assessed by paramedics.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Riverina Police District commander superintendent Andrew Spliet said Nazari was relatively physically healthy and “obviously very happy to be rescued and safe and to be reunited with his family.”

Hadi Nazari went missing on the afternoon of Boxing Day, when he failed to meet up with friends at a campsite. Source: AAP / NSW Police

Spliet said Nazari had found a hut in the mountain and two muesli bars to eat but said it is “still yet to be determined” how he survived and looked after himself over the 13 days in the rugged landscape.

Spliet said the search team was “very, very happy” when the news Nazari had been found came in over the radio.

“We never gave up hope of finding him, and we are elated we can return him safely to his family,” Broadfoot said.

The multi-agency search for Hadi Nazari involved hundreds of people, including volunteers and some of the missing hiker’s friends and family. Credit: NSW State Emergency Service

Some of Nazari’s items were found as the search continued earlier this week, including his camera, camera case and a campfire on Sunday. The search intensified in the region where the items were discovered.

—With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press.