Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter retrieves injured canyoner from Coromandel Forest Park

A stranded adventurer has been plucked from a rock in the Coromandel Forest Park, this afternoon after they fell nearly 10 metres into the water while canyoning.

Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter said that at around 2.25pm, a crew was tasked by the Rescue Co-ordination Centre to assist a stranded female patient in her forties who fell approximately 8m into the water while canyoning.

“She managed to extricate herself on to a rock and a beacon was activated,” the service said in a statement.

In a video seen by the Herald, the helicopter flew across the dense park and found a group of adventurers located on a rock, next to a waterfall.

A rescuer was winched down to assist the injured canoeist and 17 minutes later, after circling the site, crew members successfully winched her up to the aircraft.

The Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter rescued a woman who fell while canyoning in the Coromandel Forest Park Photo / Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust

“The patient needed to be extracted by winch from a height of 70 feet [21m] and she was flown to Waikato Hospital in a serious condition,” the rescue service said.

Today’s rescue adds to another busy season for Westpac Rescue Helicopters in the North Island.

Two fishermen were involved in a dramatic rescue from rocks at Sunset Beach in Port Waikato at the end of last month.

Crew from the Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter were called out at about 12.30pm to assist with the search and rescue of two fishermen, believed to be in their fifties, who were trapped on a rock and close to being swept away.

Photos of the rescue show churning white water and large waves washing over the rocks while the men clung on for their lives.

In December, the Northland Rescue Helicopter crew safely winched a worker from the Majestic cargo ship 37km northwest of Cape Rēinga last Sunday, the rescue helicopter service wrote on its Facebook page, along with footage of its successful mission.

The Majestic crewman had suffered a serious lower-leg injury after falling from a ladder, and the authorities were alerted.

Figures released at the start of this month showed Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter carried out 754 missions in 2023.

Those missions included over 400 inter-hospital transfers, more than 100 medical missions, 77 rural or remote incidents, 47 motor vehicle accidents, six rescues and 93 other missions.