Watch: Rescue helicopter lowers paramedic down to moving boat - 1News

A Westpac Rescue Helicopter rescued an injured woman from a boat earlier today, video showing a paramedic being lowered down onto the moving vessel.

The incident began about 1.30pm this afternoon, when the Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter was sent to the Hauraki Gulf to assist a woman in her 60s that had fallen on the boat.

Footage taken by Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust showed the helicopter moving alongside the boat as a critical care paramedic was lowered to the vessel by a rope.

An Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust spokesperson told 1News that it was "easier for the helicopter to match the speed of the boat", rather than for the boat to stop and the helicopter to hover over it.

"[We needed] to keep it on a steady speed because of the downwash so that the pilot can have a signal reference to keep the crew safe."

The spokesperson added that a "highline winch" was used, a mechanism that "prevents the medic from spinning around".

The woman was successfully extracted and flown to Auckland Hospital.