Coast missions dominate calls for rescue chopper

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Aside from responding to a personal locator beacon (PLB) activation at Toatoa, between Torere and Opotiki on July 31, all missions flown by the Trust Tairāwhiti Eastland Rescue Helicopter in the last week took the team up the East Coast.

“That’s really just a matter of circumstance as, over that period, it was along the Coast where people needed our team to attend, treat and transport patients,” said Eastland Rescue Helicopter Trust chair Patrick Willock.

“But it is a reminder of just how critical the service is to providing equity of emergency and medical care to this large and often remote part of our Tairāwhiti region.”

In addition to the PLB call-out, the rescue helicopter flew seven missions in the week from July 31, including four medical events, two motor vehicle accidents and a trauma.

At the same time the team was responding to a trauma at Te Araroa — at 1am on August 6 — there was another incident at Nuhaka, which was taken care of by the Hastings-based Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter.

“This again shows the benefits of being part of a group that provides helicopter rescue services across a large part of the North Island,” Mr Willock said.

“We can offer cover for other services,

and they for us, at times when demand is high, so people can feel confident we are here for them.”