A paramedic in New Zealand has continued with his rescue mission, and completed it, despite the helicopter he was in crashing en route to help an injured hiker.
The paramedic was travelling to Pirongia Forest Park, about two hours south of Auckland, when the Waikato Westpac rescue helicopter he was in came down. Authorities say the helicopter experienced a “heavy landing” at about 5pm with photos of the scene showing the red and yellow aircraft nose down, wedged between trees in thick bush.
But the paramedic was not deterred, walking through “steep and hazardous” terrain to reach the hiker.
“After the crew had extracted themselves from the stricken aircraft, the paramedic did an immediate physical check of the other crew,” Waikato Search and Rescue chief operating officer Chris Moody told Newshub. “Then, he extracted his equipment from the aircraft and went in pursuit of the patient, 200 metres away.”
The BK117 helicopter was staffed by a pilot, a critical care flight paramedic and a crewman. None of them were injured in the crash, according to Philips Search and Rescue Trust, the charity responsible for funding several of New Zealand’s rescue helicopters.
The “battered and shaken” paramedic was able to administer an intravenous drip to the hiker, Newshub reported. Two other rescue helicopters arrived, airlifting the hiker and the crew from the downed helicopter, according to New Zealand police.
Before attempting the rescue, the helicopter landed at a nearby property to offload equipment to ensure it was light enough to winch the hiker onboard, said Kate Parr, the manager of Pirongia Forest Park Lodge..
Parr described the terrain surrounding Mount Pirongia, an extinct volcano, as “really inaccessible.”
“Even if you are on the track, there is no open areas,” she said, of the Wharauroa and Mahaukura tracks that lead up to the crash site. The tracks are considered advanced with chains bolted to rocky sections to assist hikers with the climb.
“Absolutely, it wouldn’t have been easy,” said Parr, of the paramedic’s trek to reach the hiker following the crash.
New Zealand’s Transport Accident Investigation Commission is investigating the incident and a protection order is in place within a one-kilometre radius of the downed helicopter.
Moody from Waikato Search and Rescue described the crash as a “stressful and trying” situation for the crew involved.
“We’ve wrapped the support around them necessary,” Moody told Newshub. “They have been stood down from flight operations in the meantime until we can ascertain the correct pathway to return them to flight duties all in good time.”
