Tramper rescued from Orongorongo Valley after setting off a 406 Personal Locator Beacon

A Life Flight team rescued an woman from the Orongorongo Valley this afternoon.

At 2:40 this afternoon the Rescue Co-ordination Centre notified us of a personal locator beacon that had been activated in the Orongorongo Valley, near Wainuiomata.

The Life Flight team responded on the Westpac Rescue Helicopter to the area.

“We picked up the personal locator beacon signal soon after we lifted off from the airport” says Dave Greenberg, Life Flight Crewman. “The GPS position provided by the beacon brought us to within 200 metres of the patient”.

On our arrival we found a Wellington woman in her 70’s who had a lower leg injury following a fall. The woman was with a group of other trampers who were looking after her until we arrived. After being assessed by our Wellington Free Ambulance paramedic the woman was flown to Wellington Hospital where she is being treated.

“The group was very well prepared and did exactly the right thing in setting off the beacon” says Greenberg. “The woman was unable to walk out on her own. If they did not have a PLB someone would have had to walk out to raise the alarm and her rescue would have been delayed until after dark”.

The Life Flight Trust is a charity providing air rescue and air ambulance services. It operates the Wellington based Westpac Rescue Helicopter and a nationwide 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

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