Walker airlifted off Mt Taranaki after injuring her leg

A middle-aged woman was winched from a popular tramping track on Mt Taranaki after injuring her leg while walking.

The Taranaki Rescue Helicopter flew to the isolated area at midday yesterday after a cellphone call alerted police and emergency services and pinpointed the woman’s exact position on the Enchanted Track, east of the summit.

The woman, in her 50s, suffered moderate leg injuries and was airlifted to a waiting ambulance and taken by road to Taranaki Base Hospital, a St John spokeswoman said.

The other person in the party was uninjured and walked out of the track with a police search and rescue member.

Rescue helicopter crew woman Sarah Sharp said the rescue was completed without problems

‘‘We were fortunate the pair had cellphone coverage and we were able to use mobile locate to go direct to the injured woman,’’ Sharp said.

High cloud surrounding the summit did not hamper the rescue, she said.

The Enchanted Track is a popular one-and-a-half-hour walk to experience the famed ‘goblin forest’ of Egmont National Park containing thick, contorted kamahi branches covered in moss.