The Westpac Rescue Helicopter winched a man to safety who had become stuck on cliffs at Boulder Bay. Photo / Supplied
He's not too far from the top, but a long way from the bottom - and that proved a problem for a man who became stuck on a Banks Peninsula cliff face this morning.
The man became stuck 20 metres from the top of the cliff at Boulder Bay and proved a tiny target for the rescue helicopter crew to find.
But find him they did.
Christchurch-based Westpac Rescue Helicopter intensive care paramedic Wayne Ledgerwood said they were called by police about 9.30am, after the man's partner raised the alarm.
"The man had become stuck on the rocks about 20m from the top while attempting to climb up from the beach ... a paramedic was winched down to the man, who was uninjured, and he was lifted off the cliff face and flown to the top of the hill.
"The man was left with his partner and ... police."
Ledgerwood told Fairfax the man, who was 70m above the ground, was "very, very pleased to see us".
"He was clinging on with white knuckles, pretty much."
The rescue was fairly straightforward, with the main concern being that the chopper's rotor wash didn't blow the man around too much, Ledgerwood told Fairfax.
The 19-year-old disappeared without her wallet or mobile phone.