Busy day for rescue chopper

A training exercise with the New Zealand Fire Service turned into a morning rescue for a Bay of Plenty rescue helicopter.

The BayTrust Rescue Helicopter was undertaking a training exercise with firefighters yesterday morning, when they were called to Waihau Bay to assist a toddler with breathing difficulties, says pilot Ben Fry.


The BayTrust Rescue Helicopter was tasked with two missions yesterday.

Ben says local medical teams stabilised the two-year-old and he was uplifted from the local emergency centre by the helicopter.

'He was then flown to Whakatane Hospital for further treatment. The helicopter was used due to the remote location and the urgency to get the boy to hospital.

'Later in the afternoon, the Baytrust Rescue Helicopter was tasked by NZ Police SAR (search and rescue), to retrieve a 65-year-old lady who had fallen in the Mamaku Forest and fractured her leg.”

Because of the remote location, Ben says, the Southern Trust rescue hoist was used to winch the lady to safety.

'She was then flown to Rotorua Hospital for further treatment.”

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