Life Flight Winches Woman From Bush near Waikanae

At approx 11:50 this morning the Life Flight Trust was responded to the Hemi Matenga memorial park near Waikanae to a female patient in her 50’s who had suffered an injury whilst out for a day walk.

Life Flight responded in the Westpac Rescue Helicopter with a Wellington Free Ambulance Paramedic onboard.

The group the woman was with activated their Emergency locater beacon making it easier for the Helicopter team to find them.

The type of beacon used sent a GPS location to the Rescue Coordination Centre who then passed that information to the Life Flight Team.

“ Without the beacon the odds of locating them would have been much slimmer “ said Life Flight Crewman Julian Burn.

Due to the nature of the terrain and dense forest canopy, landing the Helicopter was not an option ( see photos ) so the Paramedic was Winched down into a gap in the bush and hiked to the patients location. They were then both Winched on-board. The woman was then transported to Wellington Hospitals Emergency Department to receive treatment for moderate injuries.

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

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