Man survives 30 metre fall in Wairarapa

The Wellington-based Westpac Rescue Helicopter rescued a man who fell over 30 metres into a gully this morning.

The helicopter, with a Wellington Free Ambulance paramedic onboard was called to the scene, about 2km east of Tuturumuri in the Wairarapa at 10am.

Upon our arrival in the area the helicopter was directed to a deep ravine where a 27 year old Masterton man laid injured, being treated by co-workers.

Apparently the man had been one of a group spraying pine trees when he slipped and fell into a creek at the bottom of the gully below.

Our specially trained ambulance officer was winched to the scene and found the man to be suffering from a fractured femur and possible head injuries.

"It is quite amazing that the man survived a fall of that distance" says Dave Greenberg, Westpac Rescue Helicopter crewman. "He was a bit confused as to exactly what happened but he said the fall was over 100 feet and he didn't remember hitting much on the way down".

"The tight gully made the winching a bit tricky" says Westpac Rescue Helicopter pilot Mike Hall. "We are always on the lookout for wires and other obstacles running across these types of areas but in the end the area was clear and we were able to winch the paramedic in and the patient out without much difficulty".

The man was transported to the Wellington Hospital Emergency Department where he is currently being treated and assessed.

Pictures of the rescue available at:
http://www.lifeflight.org.nz/20090824-1.jpg and http://www.lifeflight.org.nz/20090824-2.jpg

Photo credit: www.lifeflight.org.nz

ENDS

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