KEY POINTS:
A 15-year-old girl fell more than 50 metres down a cliff when a track gave way in the Tararua ranges yesterday morning.
The girl spent four hours waiting for help at the bottom of the cliff along the remote Mangahao track, near Shannon, before a helicopter airlifted her to Palmerston North Hospital.
Square Trust Rescue Helicopter crewman Dave Fielding said the girl had bruises and lacerations, a suspected head injury and a suspected broken ankle.
However, she was conscious and responsive on the scene.
The girl had fallen such a long way from the track to the river bed, that "it could have been worse", Mr Fielding said.
Helicopter crew carried out a difficult rescue winching the girl 61m on a stretcher, before stabilising her and flying her to hospital, where they landed about 5.15pm he said.
The girl had been with a group of four trampers when she fell about 11.30am.
The woman at the front of the walking group, Bianca Beznec, told the Manawatu Standard she turned around when she heard the scream.
"She had fallen about five metres and everyone started yelling 'hold on Hayley, hold on. Find something to hold on to', and then she just went down.
"You could hear her rolling and then we finally heard a thud when she hit the bottom and she started screaming. It was terrible."
Miss Beznec ran for help for more than two hours through dense bush, with another tramper she met on the way.
Two men in the tramping party clambered down the cliff to help.
- NZPA
