Chopper rescue follows car crash

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 8, Issue 369, 15 January 1991, Page 3

Chopper rescue follows car crash

The Department of ' conservation Whakapapa, police and Phillips Rescue Helicopter combined to carry out a dramatic rescue of two victims of a 4 wheel drive accident which occurrcd on 29 December at approximately 9.45 pm. The two victims, one male and one female, were thrown from their vehicle when it rollcd over a bank into the Waione Stream. Both individuals sustained spinal injuries as a result of the accident and could not be moved by the party accompanying them. The difficult and remote nature of the terrain necessitated the use of the Phillips Rescue Heli-

copter to lower DOC and ambulance personnel onto the site. Working in total darkness the patients were then winched out by the helicopter, the second of the pair being recovered at 2.45 am the following moming Both

were later transported by helicopter direct to Waikato Hospital. Due to deteriorating conditions, rescue personnel on the ground could not be extracted by the helicopter and had to be taken back to the

main road by motorbike. I The Search Controller, I Russell Montgomery, \ heaped praise on the 1^ skill of the rescue personnel, in particular John Funnell who piloted the Phillips Rescue Helicopter. Helicopter rescues are a dangerous under-taking at anytime, let alone when you add the difficulties of working in total darkness.