Missions to Coromandel increasing year on year
2021 was a year of saving lives in the Coromandel, Hauraki and surrounding areas for the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter and TECT Rescue Helicopter crews, with three helicopters active in the communities, completing an average of 22 missions per month to the region in 2021. A total of 264 missions were carried out to the Coromandel in 2021, compared to the 208 completed in 2020. A 25 per cent increase in missions to the Coromandel in 2021, is evidence of the rise in demand for rescue helicopters, particularly over the summer months.
The Coromandel is home to many popular holiday hotspots, like Whangamata, Whitianga, Waihi and Tairua. In 2021, Thames was the Coromandel location most visited by rescue helicopters, with 71 missions carried out over the year.
The Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter and TECT Rescue Helicopter crews were also seen in Waihi 36 times, Paeroa 26 times, Whangamata¯ 27 times and Whitianga 22 times.
Last year began with a mission to Bowentown, Waihi Beach, for a cyclist who had suffered chest and abdominal injuries in an accident.
The Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter arrived at the scene, where the patient was initially treated by road ambulance, and then airlifted to Waikato Hospital for further treatment.
The following day, the TECT Rescue Helicopter was sent to O¯ rokawa Walking Track at Waihi Beach to assist a man in his 70s who had fallen. He was initially cared for by road ambulance before being winched from the scene and transported to Tauranga Hospital.
May 4 saw the rescue crew in Whangamata¯ assisting a woman suffering a cardiac event. The onboard crew flew the patient to Waikato Hospital for further treatment.
A motor vehicle accident on June 8 led to the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter responding to a callout to Paeroa for a man who had chest injuries. He was stabilised at the scene before being flown to Waikato Hospital for further treatment.
A teenager suffered burns on a farm near Waihi on the evening of July 14. The crew flew the patient to Waikato Hospital for further treatment.
On October 17, the TECT Rescue Helicopter responded to a callout to Whangamata¯ for a teenager who was suffering an allergic reaction. The patient was airlifted to Thames Hospital for further treatment.
The Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter also responded to a callout to Whangamata¯ for a man in his 60s who was experiencing breathing difficulties on October 31.
The patient was in respiratory distress and was flown to Waikato Hospital for further treatment.
Tairua was also a hotspot for your rescue helicopter as the fifth most visited location in the Coromandel throughout 2021. Fifteen patients were assisted in Tairua over the year, compared to nine missions there in 2020.
On August 11, the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter was tasked to Tairua for a woman in her 80s who had suffered an unconscious collapse.
The woman was RSI’D (Rapid Sequence Intubation) by the onboard Intensive Care Paramedic and flown to Waikato Hospital for further treatment.
The onboard crew returned to Tairua on August 22 to assist a man in his 60’s who had collapsed with a seizure.
He was airlifted to Waikato Hospital for further treatment.
2021 ended with a mission to Hot Water Beach on December 21, for a young girl who had an arm injury. The young patient and her mother were flown to Waikato Hospital.
The helicopter was also dispatched to Thames on Boxing Day, December 26, for a man in his 70s who had a spinal injury. He was transported to Waikato Hospital for further treatment.
Missions to the Coromandel are increasing year on year; the rescue crews are busies over the summertime.
In December 2020, 24 missions to the Coromandel were carried out. This was the busiest month of callouts to the Coromandel for the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter and TECT Rescue Helicopter. January was the busiest month in 2021, increasing to 34.
That’s an increase in over 40 per cent compared to the year prior.
The rescue helicopters rely on regular donations to ensure reliable funding for life-saving missions. Donations to rescue.org.nz