The Trustpower TECT Rescue Helicopter was dispatched to Hicks Bay at 11:15am on Saturday 31 December, where a 58-year-old male received serious shoulder and arm injuries that required immediate hospital care.
St John Paramedics stabilised the patient before being flown to Tauranga Hospital for further treatment.
The rescue helicopter was dispatched not long after to Waiotahi beach at 2pm, where a 35-year-old male was swimming in the surf and suffered a serious neck injury.
He was stabilised by St John Paramedics before being flown to Tauranga Hospital for further treatment.