Man Knocked Unconscious After 22-Foot Fall Down Bank

The Wellington-based Westpac Rescue Helicopter rescued a man 14-hours after he fell down a bank Saturday, injuring himself.

Officials with Westpac say the 40-year-old man was taking part in a 24-hour adventure race around the Tararua Ranges when he fell over two stories down a bank around 11:00 pm local time Friday. While other members of his team made him as comfortable as possible, others walked out nearly 12 hours to alert authorities.

The rescue helicopter was notified about the injured man around 12:15 Saturday afternoon -- and the crew, with a specially winch trained Wellington Free Ambulance paramedic onboard, arrived in the Ruamahanga River area about 1pm.

"We winched Iain, our paramedic, down to the area where two people were waiting, only to find that the patient was actually about 500 metres up a small creek, under thick trees and bush" says Westpac Rescue Helicopter crewman Dave Greenberg. "When we flew up the creek we could just see the patients survival blanket through the trees, and we knew it would be a difficult rescue."

In the end, the helicopter team winched the paramedic just over 200 feet out of the helicopter and then was pulled onto the bank where the patient was by a fellow tramper after the paramedic threw him a rope. Winds in the area were gusting over 20 knots -- so the winch conditions were not ideal.

"It was certainly one of the trickier rescues I have been involved in" says Harry Stevenson, Westpac Rescue Helicopter Pilot. "There is no way you can write this kind of situation into a manual -- you just have to take it slow and easy and count on the experience and expertise of all involved to get the job done safely".

The injured man is suffering from head, chest and hip injuries and was knocked unconscious when he originally fell down the bank. He was kept warm and as dry as possible while waiting for rescue.

He was flown to the Wellington Hospital Emergency Department, where he is being treated and assessed at this time.

FMI: www.lifeflight.org.nz