On the morning of Tuesday 30 August, the BayTrust Rescue Helicopter was undertaking a training exercise with the NZ Fire Service, when they were called to Waihau Bay to assist with a 2-year-old boy who was having breathing difficulties. Local medical teams stabilised the boy and he was uplifted from the local emergency centre and flown to Whakatane Hospital for further treatment.
The helicopter was used due to the remote location and the urgency to get the boy to hospital.
Later in the afternoon, the Rescue Helicopter was tasked by NZ Police SAR, to retrieve a 65-year-old woman who had fallen in the Mamaku Forest and fractured her leg. Due to the remote location, the Southern Trust Rescue Hoist was used to winch the woman to safety.
She was then flown to Rotorua Hospital for further treatment.
