Day of injuries, rescues at skifield
Police are warning skiers to stick inside skifield boundaries after two people on Mt Ruapehu were seriously injured.
A 40-year-old man was transported to Palmerston North Hospital in a critical condition following an accident at the Mangaehuehu Glacier on Saturday night.
Police were notified of four people who needed assistance on the glacier about 5.30pm.
The man had skied off a cliff while a female was stuck on the cliff face.
The remaining two members of the party found their way to the injured man and alerted emergency services.
‘‘Due to a significant avalanche risk, Ruapehu Alpine Lifts went to huge lengths to keep people out of this area, which is outside the skifield boundary,’’ Senior Constable Conrad Smith, of National Park, said.
‘‘It is incredibly disappointing and frustrating that these warnings were ignored.’’
After a prolonged rescue effort, the man was recovered using a rope system and taken to Tu¯ roa Medical Centre before being transported to hospital in a critical condition.
The woman was also rescued from the cliff face and suffered no serious injuries.
‘‘This incident serves as a timely reminder that ignoring warning signs not only puts your own life at risk, but also the lives of those in the rescue teams.’’
Meanwhile, ski patrol staff are reviewing the safety of all buildings on Mt Ruapehu following an incident where slabs of ice fell from a roof and hit a group of skiers.
Five people were injured and three were airlifted to hospital when blocks of ice fell on them at the Tu¯ roa skifield on Saturday afternoon. Three rescue helicopters were called about 3pm after ice fell from a toilet block on to a group of skiers, a Greenlea rescue helicopter spokesperson said. Members of the group suffered head, leg and pelvis injuries.
Ruapehu Alpine Lifts Ltd owns and operates the Tu¯ roa skifield. Its general manager, JP Chevalier, said this type of incident was rare, and the team had spent the weekend reviewing all other buildings and snowfall hazards. ‘‘After heavy snow in recent weeks, snow accumulation on buildings was identified as a potential hazard and warning signs and ropes were put up by ski patrol staff as a precaution.’’
Anthony, a skier on the mountain who didn’t want his last name used, said he was eating lunch with his family when he heard an ‘‘almighty crash’’.
‘‘All these people were gasping. A big slab of ice and snow had slid straight off the roof and landed on about five people,’’ he said. Dozens of people ran to the toilet block and started digging the skiers out of the ice.
A relative of four people injured in the ice fall, NZ First list MP Jenny Marcroft, said her sister was in Whanganui Hospital undergoing surgery on a broken leg on Saturday night, along with a niece getting an X-ray for a back injury. Another niece suffered minor injuries, and a nephew received stitches to a head injury.