Man winched from rocks
Sat, 05 Feb 2005
Man winched from rocks
The Wellington based Westpac Rescue Helicopter rescued a man off rocks last night.
The 18 year old Mana man was rescued off rocks at Titahi Bay, near Porirua, last night after apparently having a seizure while swimming. Apparently the man's friends pulled him ashore and then called 111 for help. The helicopter was called at about 8pm
The man was left in quite an inaccessible position but once the helicopter arrived on scene he was winched on board in under 5 minutes. "He was quite hypothermic by that point in time and our Wellington Free Ambulance paramedic was extremely efficient at getting him ready to be winched, as we needed to get him warmed up as quickly as possible" says Westpac Rescue Helicopter crew person Ruth Zeinert.
Due to the persistent fog making the hospital helipad inaccessible the patient was flown back to the Life Flight Air Rescue Centre at Wellington Airport where he was met by a Wellington Free Ambulance team - the patient was then transported to Wellington Hospital Emergency Department in a stable condition. He arrived at hospital about 8:45pm.
The man has been admitted to hospital and is being treated for inhaling salt water - he is expected to be discharged from hospital on Monday.
ENDS