A French tourist who fell over a 50m cliff at Omanawa Falls on Saturday was the first of two winch rescues for the Tauranga based Trustpower TECT Rescue helicopter.
Luckily the 32 year old Frenchman was able to stop his fall 10 meters from the top by grabbing onto a tree, otherwise it was another 40 meters to rocks below, says pilot Liam Brettkelly.
'We were able to locate the man then winch down a St John Paramedic to secure the man into a harness and winch him to safety. Luckily he was uninjured in the fall.”
In the second winch rescue a woman in her 60s with a medical condition had become unwell while walking a loop track west of Katikati.
'Because of communication issues it took some time to locate the sick tramper and her two companions,” says Liam. 'Once located, the woman was winched into the helicopter in difficult windy conditions and flown to a farmhouse near Katikati.'
The helicopter then returned for her tramping companions who were winched out due to fading light as they were not prepared for a night in the bush.
The Port of Tauranga rescue winch was used in two rescues on Saturday. Photo: Supplied.
1 comment
Omanawa Falls Track is CLOSED
Posted on 16-10-2016 22:50 | By BennyBenson
Why are people still using this track when it has a closed gate and signage on the gate saying it is closed to the public? Every day there are cars parked there and along the road blatantly ignoring this fact, only to yet again require rescue services to haul them out. Hope they get charged for the rescue service.
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