Tramper saved after 100mfall
A 46-year-old tramper was flown to Nelson Hospital after falling 100 metres down a rock face in the Nelson Lakes region.
The Auckland man had been tramping with his partner and another man on the Waiau Pass yesterday when he fell in the Spenser Mountain area. The Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter was called by the Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Wellington, after an emergency locater beacon was activated around 4pm.
The pair, along with another tramper, were found on the side of the mountain at the headwaters of the Matakitaki River.
St John spokesman Jon Leach said the man had slipped on some ice and fell between 70 and 100 metres down a rock face. The intensive care paramedic on board had been winched down, he said.
‘‘It was quite a technical rescue.’’
The injured man was winched up on a stretcher, followed by his partner and their gear.
He had suffered facial, leg and chest injuries and was taken to Nelson Hospital.
A Nelson Hospital spokeswoman said today he was in a stable condition in the intensive care unit.
Mr Leach said the other male tramper, believed to be an Australian, had not been part of the original tramping group and had continued on.
The helicopter was also dispatched to the Anakiwa area in the Marlborough Sounds last night after reports a paraglider had crashed into the bush.
Mr Leach said search and rescue teams had been on the ground searching for the 52-year-old local man since the afternoon. The man was found shortly after the helicopter arrived.
‘‘The interesting thing is he hadn’t injured himself from the fall. Where he landed was awkward terrain and he had slipped [while getting out] and suffered minor injuries.’’
The man was treated at the scene before being flown to Wairau Hospital.
On Saturday afternoon the helicopter was dispatched to help a mountainbiker in the Maitai Valley area.
Mr Leach said the 35-year-old Nelson man had been a solo biker who had come off and sustained moderate leg injuries.
He had raised the alarm via cellphone after being unable to get himself out. The helicopter had arrived and winched him out around 2.30pm.