A man had to be winched off the side of Mt Ngauruhoe after he was "skittled by a tumbling rock" yesterday.
The man was rescued by the crew of the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter after the rock, described as a "widow maker", by rescue helicopter crew, bowled him over.
He was knocked off his feet and thrown about 50m "head over heels" down a sleep slope.
The man was flown to Rotorua Hospital.
Mt Ngauruhoe is the volcanic cone of Mt Tongariro, and is one of New Zealand's most active volcanoes.
