A climber was seriously injured after falling from a cliff in the Orton Bradley Park near Christchurch.
The man, aged in his early 20s, was believed to belong to a local climbing club.
A spokesman for St John ambulance said it was alerted to the incident at 5.09pm and sent an ambulance and the Westpac rescue helicopter with paramedics on board.
The man was flown to Christchurch Hospital with serious injuries.
The fire service initially responded to the job but weren't able to get to the location and left it to a team of police.