Westpac Rescue Helicopter has busy day

Westpac Rescue Helicopter has busy day

The Wellington based Westpac Rescue Helicopter has had a busy day, with a call to Waikanae to transport a man who fell through his ceiling late this morning and the winch and transport of a patient injured in a logging accident near Koromiko this afternoon.

In the first incident, Wellington Free Ambulance and the Kapiti EMS team were called to a Waikanae residential address just after 11 am after a 61 year old man fell approximately 5 metres after falling through his ceiling.

"We understand the man was walking in a crawl space, broke through the ceiling and hit his back on a steel filing cabinet on his way down, which has raised the possibility of some internal injuries" says Dave Greenberg, Westpac Rescue Helicopter crewman.

The man was transported to Wellington Hospital Emergency Department, escorted by a Wellington Free Ambulance paramedic, and has since been admitted to Wellington Hospital and is listed in a stable condition.

In the second incident the Wellington based Westpac Rescue Helicopter was called to a logging accident near Koromiko in Marlborough just after 3 pm this afternoon. A 21 year old Nelson man was knocked unconscious when he was hit in the head by a small section of log which we understand was being cut off a bigger log.

Our winch trained Wellington Free Ambulance Paramedic was lowered to the patient, and after stabilising him the patient and paramedic were winched back into the helicopter and the patient was transported to the Wellington Hospital Emergency Department.

"The mans co-workers did a great job with first-aid and keeping him warm" says Greenberg. "They gave us an accurate GPS position which allowed us to fly directly to the scene and the good weather conditions led to a relatively simple winch operation".

The man is currently being assessed in Wellington Hospital and is expected to be admitted to hospital.

ENDS

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