The Trustpower TECT Rescue Helicopter was dispatched to Ruatahuna Valley at 4:30pm on Saturday 8 April, where a 76-year-old male hunter had fallen into a river.
A hunting companion pulled him from the river. The man had stopped breathing so CPR was administered with a successful outcome.
The rescue helicopter landed at a camping ground in a steep valley and a St John paramedic assessed the patient before being flown to Rotorua Hospital.
The main road into Ruatahuna has been washed-out and has slips and no vehicle access to the valley for the next few days.