Waikato chopper rescues on the up
Waikato’s chopper crews have been extra busy this summer, completing more than 20 rescue missions in Thames Coromandel since Christmas Day.
Every year Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter has two choppers, and assistance from Bay of Plenty’s TECT Rescue Helicopter covering Coromandel over the summer period.
However, with large numbers of Kiwis swarming beaches this year, the region has become a breeding ground for mishaps.
Philips Search and Rescue Trust marketing manager Sharni Weir said their crews were normally busy in Coromandel over summer, but this year’s missions had more than doubled the same time last year.
‘‘Our crew have been very busy because they’re in the closest perimeter to many of the summer hotspots,’’ Weir said.
‘‘We definitely anticipated we would be busier because Kiwis are stuck in New Zealand, but this year has been incredible.’’
Since Christmas Day, the three chopper crews have completed 20 missions in the Coromandel region in 13 days.
Last year for the same days, December 25 to January 6, the crew did eight missions in the region.
The hot spots for rescues were Whangamata¯ , Bowentown, Cooks Beach and Great Barrier Island.
Port Charles was also a hotspot with two young boys sustaining serious injuries after two separate falling incidents on Sunday.
Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter was dispatched to Port Charles, in northern Coromandel, after a five-year-old boy climbing a tree fell.
The boy was assessed and treated on scene, then flown to Waikato Hospital in serious condition.
That same day at around 7pm, a 9-year-old boy also fell in Port Charles and was transported to Auckland Hospital also in serious condition. Staff could not disclose the cause of his fall.
This spike isn’t just summer related.
‘‘Obviously in 2020 we had lockdown and that should have meant our mission numbers would be a bit lower because most people were at home, but we found that was not the case.’’
From January to November
2020, Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter did 874 missions, compared with 730 missions in
2019 from January to December. In the month July 2020 they did 170, August 105, September
100.
‘‘They go up year-on-year, but we have never done over 100 missions in a month in the history of the service.’’
Weir believes the increase is in part to do with population growth, border closures, and the fact that the team now has a range of skills to cover a wider variety of rescues.
‘‘We have a bigger crew than we’ve ever had before.
‘‘Two years ago, we used to operate with volunteers whereas now all our staff are paid, and we have three staff at every rescue mission: an intensive paramedic, a pilot and a crewman.
‘‘They’ve become almost like a moving hospital.’’
She said while their capacity increase has been great each mission costs on average around $9500.
With only a small proportion of funding coming from the Government they rely heavily on community support, she said.
‘‘Everyone is enjoying their Kiwi summer and accidents do happen while Kiwis explore the country — so it’s great that Kiwis know they have us to help.
‘‘But our increased mission numbers and increased costs have meant we need the community support more than ever.’’