Volunteers train for river rescues
A submerged car, a team of river rescuers, and a woman ‘‘trapped’’ in the back seat calling out for ... a cup of tea.
Nelson’s local Search and Rescue volunteers kept their spirits light in between training exercises but when scenarios were playing out, there was no fooling around.
More than 30 staff and volunteers, including expert river rescue trainers from across the country, were at the Motueka River over the weekend for specialised training.
Nelson Bays police Sergeant Malcolm York said it was a policeled training exercise involving Civil Defence, Search and Rescue staff, the Police Dive Squad, and it focused specifically on training volunteers for swift-water rescues.
‘‘In the last couple of years we’ve had more of these kinds of events where people have got themselves into trouble,’’ he said.
One of the key scenarios teams were practising involved rescuing people from a submerged car, which simulated a common highrisk rescue for the region.
York said often in flooding or rivers, people would attempt to four-wheel-drive through water and find the current was too strong.
‘‘The vehicle can get swamped or, worst-case scenario, swept away. In this area we’ve had that happen numerous times over the last couple of years and probably the scariest one was in flood water and there was a baby in the car.’’
Thankfully in that real-life scenario, all occupants were rescued.
All the volunteers already had experience as river guides, like Lisa Cooper, a tutor at Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology. The training provided some helpful practical experience, she said, particularly around submerged vehicles.
‘‘Accessing into the car safely, so getting in through the windows and doors, how to open the doors and take seat belts off, and becoming comfortable in that environment so that when you’re heart’s pumping and the pressure’s on, it’s actually a lot more comfortable and you know how to do it.’’ ‘COLD AND SCARED’ Survivors from two vehicles submerged in Canterbury’s Ashley River were ‘‘bordering on hypothermia’’ when emergency services arrived, the fire service says.
During an attempt to cross the river about 5pm on Saturday, two vehicles became submerged in water, one up to the window sill and the other half way up the window.
Firefighter Richard Davies said fire crews from Woodend assisted police and the Coastguard in helping seven people to safety about three hours after they became stranded on a riverbank.
There was a mix of older and younger people in the vehicles, he said. ‘‘They were cold and scared.
‘‘They were bordering on hypothermia.’’