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A girl was impaled on a school fence for at least 10 minutes yesterday before emergency services cut her free. The 14-year-old apparently slipped while trying to scale the front metal fence of Pomaria Primary School in Henderson, Auckland, some time after 5pm.
The arrow-like point of one of the fence pales spiked the inside of her right arm, about midway between elbow and wrist, exiting like a giant needle at her wrist. Witnesses said she had to stand on tip-toes to avoid hanging by the arm.
A man rushed out of a nearby house to help support her while they waited for help. The man estimated the girl was impaled for about 10 minutes. But neighbours said it was closer to 30 minutes before two fire engines and an ambulance arrived.
They watched as a fire officer cut off the top of the fence pale. The man propping the girl up said she seemed "fine, very calm, relaxed".
He said she and her friends "were just going for a walk".
