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A man has been hospitalised after being trapped for hours under a pile of logs near Raetihi in the central North Island last night.
A Square Trust Rescue helicopter was called to the forestry accident near Tohunga Junction just off State Highway 4 about 8pm.
A spokesman said a stack of logs had collapsed onto the self-employed firewood dealer trapping him for a number of hours.
The man's wife raised the alarm when he failed to return home and friends found him trapped under the logs, where he had been since mid-afternoon.
The spokesman said it was a "long and involved" process rescuing the man as emergency services required extreme care so as not to cause the remainder off the stack to collapse.
The man, in his 50s, was treated and stabilised by St John paramedics before being flown to Palmerston North Hospital for admission, suffering from suspected ruptures to the spleen and liver.
- NZPA
