Wellington family hurt by falling tree still in hospital

Three members of a Wellington family are recovering in hospital after a tree collapsed on them in Queenstown.

A child, believed to be a 5-year-old boy, remains in a serious condition, while the mother and another child are both in a stable condition at Dunedin Hospital.

The family, along with one other person, had been sitting under a tree near the Shotover Jet base when it fell over due to high winds on Tuesday.

Senior Sergeant Paula Enoka said the mother had broken bones in her pelvic and hip area, while the boy was in the children’s ward.

The father and another member of the public who was injured have been discharged from hospital.

A group of firefighters has been credited for helping assist with the rescue attempt, after coming off a jet boat ride shortly before the incident.

Nga¯i Tahu Tourism chief executive Quinton Hall said the firefighters, from Auckland, were nearby when the tree fell about 1pm.

There was a loud noise and it was immediately obvious people were injured, Hall said.

The firefighters joined members of the public and staff members to lift the tree and free the injured people.

‘‘There was some effort involved . . . we do train for incidents but we never expected to be dealing with a tree fall as one of those incidents.’’

Hall said the incident had been ‘‘pretty tough’’ on staff members and members of the public ‘‘especially seeing young people hurt’’.

The company had three staff members in Dunedin supporting the wider family and said their conditions were all improving.

Shotover Jet closed operations yesterday and brought in counsellors to support staff, customers and members of the public who were onsite at the time.

Arborists were employed immediately after the tree fell to check other trees around the site on Tuesday afternoon. They were declared safe.

The Shotover Jet base sits on Department of Conservation land and it remained unclear who was responsible for the maintenance of the trees, Hall said.

‘‘The next thing we’re doing is investigating what actually happened and will address any issues as we go.’’

A statement on the company’s website said it hoped to reopen today. Police are continuing to make inquiries.