News
December 12, 2017
Footage has emerged of a challenging helicopter rescue of an Auckland man who fell 6m from a tree.
The man in his 20s had been pruning mid-morning on Monday when his chainsaw kicked back on him, cutting his arm and his safety line.
He was sent plummeting to the ground from about 6m up.
The man suffered serious leg and chest injuries.
The Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter was alerted to the incident off Cape Horn Rd in Mt Roskill about 10.30am.
The footage obtained by NZH Focus and filmed by a crewman attending the incident, shows how the mission unfolded - all within about an hour and a half from A to B.
Within four minutes of arriving, the crew spotted the injured man from afar, and despite the steep and bushy terrain making for challenging conditions, the man was successfully winched to safety on board.
The man was then taken to Auckland City Hospital, where he remains in a serious condition.
A spokesman for the Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter told NZH Focus that it'd been a particularly busy past couple of days.
The rescue helicopter was involved in two trips to Waiheke Island for unrelated medical events.
It's expected that it'll only get busier over the summer months.
