Digger used to anchor boulder as man pinned beneath it on a slope

Monday, 29 August 2022

A digger, winch and hydraulic equipment were used to lift a two-tonne boulder that had landed on a man's leg, trapping him for more than eight hours.

When a man was discovered pinned under a boulder on a bank rescuers knew they were in for a challenging job.

The man, in his 60s, had been lying with his leg trapped beneath a two-tonne plus boulder on a sloping riverbank in Tapawera, near Nelson, for eight to 12 hours when rescuers were called on Sunday morning.

It’s believed the man had been standing on the boulder by the bridge on Tadmor Valley Rd when it gave out underneath him, sending them both down a bank. A family member went looking for him and raised the alarm.

Tapawera Volunteer Fire Brigade station officer Bryce Porthouse said no amount of brute force could have moved the boulder, which would have weighed more than two tonnes.

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Rescuers used a digger as an anchor point to help stabilise the boulder before lifting it off the man. (File photo)

Wakefield Volunteer Fire Brigade deputy fire chief Blair Hall was in charge of moving the boulder and said it was an “extremely challenging scene”, unlike anything he’d seen in his long career.

When they arrived on-scene about 10am, the first step was assessing the risk, he said.

“It’s about stabilising it, making it as safe as you can, and then coming up with a plan … the overarching thing is to make sure there’s no further injuries.”

The boulder stopped about halfway down the slope, and the most pressing risk was it moving again, he said.

“It couldn’t be allowed to travel in any other direction … he’s still on a slope, and he was pinned below the rock.”

To stabilise the rock, rescuers roped in a digger from a neighbouring property, which they used as an anchor point.

That was the great thing about working in rural communities, Hall said.

“If you think you need a digger, and you just ask for one, it seems to appear.”

Once they had the boulder stabilised, they waited for the OK from the ambulance team.

Porthouse said “it had to be a slow, gentle lift” to ensure they didn’t do any further harm to the patient.

Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter's first female winch operator Zoe Farmer.

“We had to wait for medics to stabilise him … so we didn’t send toxins up into his body.”

When they were given the OK, the rescuers used hydraulic tools and winches to lift the boulder up and back, Hall said.

“We just basically lifted it up just enough to get his leg free.”

The patient was awake, and the ambulance crews gave him pain relief, he said.

“He was conscious when we got there, and he was talking … quite remarkable.”

In all, the rescue operation took about 90 minutes, and ended with the Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter flying the man to Nelson Hospital in a serious condition.

On Monday Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand Nelson Marlborough said the patient was in a stable condition.

Porthouse said it was a “freak accident”.

“He’s a very lucky guy though, if it had rolled on any other part of his body it could have killed him instantly.”

Hall said it was likely the wet weather in recent weeks, which had caused severe slips around the top of the south, would have contributed to the accident.

“After the amount of rain we’ve had any sort of embankment, or really surface, it could be compromised so take extra care.”