Busy winter for rescue helicopter

The versatility of Taranaki’s rescue helicopter has seen it used a record number of times in the past three months.

During May, June and July the chopper attended more call outs than it had in those months during the previous four years.

So far in 2017 the Taranaki Community Rescue Helicopter, which operates in one of the most challenging environments in New Zealand, has flown 102 missions, Andy Cronin, the service’s general manager and crewman, said.

‘‘So far we are ahead of last year, we are busier than we were at this time last year,’’ Cronin said.

‘‘There’s been a real mix of jobs, ACC work is still our highest – accidents and medical emergencies.’’

Of the missions, 18 have been rescues on the mountain or in the bush and 17 have been searches tasked by the police or the Rescue Co-ordination Centre.

Cronin said the helicopter had become an essential service and it was being relied on more and more but was only used when appropriate.

‘‘There’s a huge variety of work that we are doing in different locations.

‘‘The helicopter has to be tasked by somebody to go to a job. We just don’t go flying around looking for work.’’

Cronin said the chopper could reach injured patients on the mountain in minutes rather than hours, which could be critical.

‘‘Those ones, on the mountain, are pretty special from the sense that the helicopter makes a huge difference to getting access quickly.

‘‘It reduces their suffering and in some cases it saves their life.’’

Last month two injured German tourists were flown off Mt Taranaki after they had fallen hundreds of metres.

Police said the pair ‘‘were very lucky to be alive’’ and if the helicopter hadn’t been able to pick them up they would have had to be carried off in stretchers.

Cronin said while there had been a number of jobs this year where the helicopter’s quick arrival had genuinely saved lives there were other times when it was already too late.

In June the chopper retrieved the body of Morgan Ross Fraser from near Humphries Castle.

‘‘Those jobs are still hugely important to us because returning a loved one to their family is really important.

‘‘It’s quite a solemn task but it’s really important to be able to reunite them with their families.’’

The helicopter was also proving to be a valuable tool to locate lost or missing individuals, Cronin said.

‘‘It has the ability to search large areas quickly and to insert specialist teams.

‘‘Some have happy endings and we have found the people while some of the people have not survived.’’

Cronin said while the helicopter’s crew were often the ones who received the credit for the work they did, the kudos really belonged with the Taranaki community.

‘‘We wouldn’t exist without them, so we can’t thank them enough.

‘‘Those that work on the helicopter see first hand the difference that we make in people’s lives but this is only possible with the support of our community.’’