The Trustpower TECT Rescue Helicopter was dispatched at 12.00pm yesterday to the Wairoa River , approximately 300 metres below the McLaren Falls, where a 40-year-old male rafter received a serious leg injury from tripping in the raft.
The location of the incident was at an unaccessible part of the river in a steep gorge, so the Trustpower TECT Rescue Helicopter was dispatched.
The Port of Tauranga Rescue Winch was used to lower a paramedic was down to stabilise the patient, who could not be removed from the raft due to the severity of his injury.
The patient was winched up into the helicopter on a stretcher, along with the paramedic, before being flown to Tauranga Hospital for further treatment.
The rescue helicopter was then tasked to TeKaha medical centre, where a 7-year-old boy had a medical condition requiring urgent hospital care. He was flown to Whakatane Hospital.
The helicopter was tasked to this job due to the distance by road to the required hospital.
About Philips Search and Rescue Trust
Philips Search and Rescue Trust (PSRT) is a charitable organisation, operating rescue helicopters throughout the Central North Island. Philips Search and Rescue Trust relies on support from principal sponsors and community donations. Special thanks to Tauranga’s principal sponsor’s, Trustpower and TECT and the rescue winch sponsor – Port of Tauranga. This crucial financial support ensures our rescue helicopters can continue to bring life-saving equipment, rescue personnel and trauma-trained medics directly to the patient.
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