Man winched to safety in Wellingon

The man had suffered a heart problem while walking on the Mackenzie Track. Photo / Supplied

A man was winched 40m above a Wellington forest to get the medical treatment he needed today.

It took the Life Flight Westpac Rescue Helicopter crew 30 minutes to locate the man, aged in his 60s, who had suffered a heart problem while walking on the Mackenzie Track.

The man was near the Butterfly Creek area of the track when emergency services were called at about 1.45pm.

Crewman Julian Burn said 80 to 90 per cent of the track was covered in a thick canopy - presenting a number of issues for the rescuers.

"It was quite a difficult place that the patient had gone for a walk, it's heavily forested with a lot of canopies," he said.

"It took us 20 to 30 minutes of flying around to find him, even though we knew where he was."

Mr Burn said an intensive care paramedic was able to be winched down through a gap in the thick canopy, and spent about 15 minutes stabilising the man before he was winched back to the helicopter.

He was airlifted to Wellington Hospital in a serious condition.

Mr Burn said it was lucky the weather in the city was fine today.

"Lucky for him the weather was good because that valley can be quite notorious for strong winds."

The helicopter service conducted about 20 winch rescues each year, said Mr Burns.