Man winched from cliff face in Wairarapa
A Life Flight team rescued a man stuck on a remote ledge in the iconic Pinnacles on the South Coast of the Wairarapa.
Life Flight responded with a Wellington Free Ambulance Paramedic onboard the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.
The Wellington man, in his 20’s, called 111 to report that he was stuck on a ledge after trying to climb to the
Pinnacles Lookout.
The man was able to talk the helicopter team into his exact location.
Our paramedic was lowered to the man and then the pair were winched back into the helicopter. He was uninjured so was
returned to his car in a nearby parking area.
“Apparently he was told that he could climb from the bottom of the Pinnacles all the way up to the lookout” says Life
Flight crewman Dave Greenberg. “He made it quite a way up before being caught out by the shear cliffs. He is quite
lucky that he had cell coverage because the area was well away from where trampers usually venture”.
The Life Flight Trust is a charity providing air rescue and air ambulance services. It operates the Wellington based
Westpac Rescue Helicopter and a national air ambulance service. It relies on support from the public and sponsorship
from partners such as Westpac to provide these services. Further information can be obtained from www.lifeflight.org.nz
ENDS