Five people have been injured, two critically and one seriously, after a tree fell on a group of people at Queenstown's Shotover Jet base.
A witness saw a child being loaded into a chopper and a St John spokesman said three helicopters and multiple ambulances were in attendance.
The ages and genders of the patients were not known, he said.
A person at the scene has described it as "absolute chaos".
The man said three fire trucks, many police offices and a doctor were present.
He said a tree had come down near the building on a grassy area.
He estimated it was at least 50 metres tall.
People were visibly distressed at the scene, the man said.
A police spokeswoman said emergency services were called to an incident at 1pm.
A Fire and Emergency spokesman said it appeared a tree had fallen on a group of people.
Details about any injuries were unclear.
Shotover Jet has issued an alert on its website saying that it is closed for the rest of the day.
A severe weather watch for northwest gales is currently in place in Central Otago and Southern Lakes.
The watch is in place from 1pm until 6am tomorrow and westerly winds may rise to severe gale in exposed places.
Metservice meteorologist Lisa Murray said observations at Queenstown Airport have shown mean wind speeds of 20km/h with gusts up to 52km/h.
Murray said there were places that could be more exposed to wind gusts that weren't under official observation.
- NZ Herald and Otago Daily Times
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