Life Flight has had a busy weekend with rescues in Wellington, Lower Hutt, the Wairapa and Marlborough.

Life Flight responded to these rescues with the Westpac Rescue Helicopter which also had a Wellington Free Ambulance Paramedic onboard.

Saturday 12:05pm
Life Flight responded to a man suffering from cardiac arrest at the Pauatahanui Golf Course. The helicopter landed on the golf course and our team assisted two other WFA teams who were also on scene. Despite the best efforts of paramedics and bystanders who began CPR soon after the man collapsed the man was not able to be revived.

Saturday 1:00pm
While returning from the previous mission the Westpac Rescue Helicopter was requested to respond to Paraparaumu where a 72 year old Paraparaumu woman was found suffering from a suspected stroke. The helicopter landed at the airport where it was met by a WFA ambulance who had picked up the woman a few minutes earlier. The helicopter was used because a patient suffering from a cerebral event such as a stroke have a greater chance of a good recovery if they reach the emergency department quickly. The woman was transfered to the Emergency Department at Wellington Hospital.

Saturday 4:15pm
The helicopter was sent to a report of a car over a bank near Punga Cove in the Marlborough Sounds. The car was located down a small bank on Titirangi Road near Punga Cove. Our Wellignton Free Ambulance paramedic was winched to the scene and found a 25 year old German tourist with minor injuries after his car lost control and went down the bank. A local resident drove our paramedic and patient to the helicopter which had landed a short distance away. The man was flown to Wairau Hospital in Blenheim where he was treated and later released.

Sunday 10:00am
The Westpac Rescue Helicopter, with the WFA paramedic and a police SAR member were sent to a report of people in distress near Cape Palliser in the Wairarapa. "We were called when shots were heard and a 'big orange flag' was seen being waved from a high peak near Cape Palliser" says Dave Greenberg, Life Flight crewman. "When we approached the area we spotted two men on top of a narrow peak about 3km east of the lighthouse and our pilot was able to touch one skid to the ground allowing our paramedic to get to them".

After a quick check the helicopter came back in to the peak and the paramedic and two hunters climbed onboard. The men were uninjured so the helicopter landed near their vehicle so they could make their own way home.

The two men, both to be believed from the Wellington region became "georaphically challenged" when they had problems with their GPS. They used several shots from their hunting rifle to attract the attention of people below. We understand (but Masterton police would need to confirm) that people on a boat a little bit off from 'Cod Rocks' heard their shots and saw their flag being waved and raised the alarm with police.

Sunday 10:35am
While heading back to Wellington the helicopter was redirected to Castle Point in the Wairarapa where a small boat had overturned throwing three people into the water. When we received the call we were told that the three people from the boat made it safely to shore but one was suffering from a head injury. On our arrival the three people were found safely on shore. A 61 year old Masterton man had a small head wound, apparently after striking his head when the boat flipped over. He was flown to Masterton Hospital to be treated and assessed.

Sunday 12:05pm
While heading back to Wellington (and a well deserved lunch!) the helicopter was redirected to Ohariu Valley near Mt Kau Kau for an injured motorcross rider.

The 46 year old Lower Hutt man was taking part in an organised motorcross event when he was injured. The man says his bike stalled going up a hill and as he was walking it back down the hill his foot fell into a hole and as he fell over he could hear the bone snap.

The helicopter was able to land about 100 metres down hill from the man. With the assitance of other riders and race officials our paramedic stabilsed the man and he was carried to the helicopter. The man was flown to the Wellington Hospital Emergency Department where he is being treated for a severely broken leg.

© Scoop Media