KEY POINTS:
A crewman who had his fingers crushed in an accident on board a Japanese fishing trawler yesterday has been airlifted from the vessel, 200km from shore, and taken to Dunedin Hospital.
The Rescue Coordination Centre NZ (RCCNZ) received an emergency call about the injured man on the Tomi Maru 87 at 11.15am yesterday when the trawler was then 700km southeast of Dunedin.
The 25-year-old man, from Kiribati, had his fingers crushed in an accident yesterday morning, when the vessel was outside the range of emergency aircraft.
The RCCNZ organised a pick-up point closer to shore and two helicopters - one to airlift the injured crewman and one to act as cover - met the trawler 200km from shore at 9.30am today.
Paramedics said the crewman suffered moderate injuries to his hand and was in a stable condition.
He will undergo surgery at Dunedin Hospital today.
- NZPA
