Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter called out five times in 12 hours

Friday, 19 February 2021

Crews from the Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter had multiple call outs between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. (File photograph)

Crew members from the Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter hardly had a chance to put their feet on the ground with five call outs across the region in the 12 hours to 3am on Friday.

Pilot Brendan Hiatt said the busy period started at about 3pm on Thursday with a call to John Tait Hut in the Nelson Lakes National Park to pick up an injured woman and fly her to Nelson Hospital.

The crew was back in the air at 4.45pm to fly an injured male from Takaka to Wellington.

A digger rollover at Canvastown that left a man trapped prompted the third callout about 8.20pm. However, after the crew arrived they found the man was uninjured and, therefore, not in need of transport by helicopter, Hiatt said.

At about 11.40pm, the chopper was flying again – to the Nydia Bay hut in the Marlborough Sounds for a medical transfer to Wairau Hospital in Blenheim.

The final call in the busy 12-hour period came at 2.10am on Friday. The crew headed to Takaka to pick up an injured female and fly her to Nelson Hospital, arriving after 3am, Hiatt said.