Cave Rescue Underway
New Zealand Police National News Release
4:30pm 6 November 2008
http://www.police.govt.nz/news/release.html?id=4461
06 November 2008
A multi-agency rescue team is currently being brought together to help evacuate a seriously injured woman trapped in an
underground cave near Ngapaenga, west of Waitomo this afternoon.
Te Kuiti Sub-Area Manager, Senior Sergeant Robert Van Kalken, said Police were alerted to the situation around 2.35pm.
"We've had a report of a woman suffering a fall in the Lucky Strike Cave which is off Waipuna Rd, west of Waitomo.
"The woman was 40-60 minutes into the cave when the fall happened, she suffered a broken hip and lost three teeth and
fell into a stream. A companion managed to pull her from the stream and cover her in a survival blanket before coming
out to raise the alarm."
The woman was conscious at the time her companion left her.
Caving experts, Police, Search and Rescue and St John Ambulance staff have all been brought into the scene to assist
with the rescue of the woman.
That rescue is estimated to take four to six hours to complete, a rescue helicopter is currently on standby to airlift
the injured woman to hospital once she has been brought to the surface.
ENDS