Race to save trapped fisherman

A fisherman was enduring an agonising 30-hour trip to Bluff late last night, pinned in fish-processing machinery that had amputated one leg and trapped the other.

A dramatic attempt to airlift the man yesterday was aborted after medics deemed it too dangerous to remove him from the machinery.

A decision was taken for the 66m fishing boat Aoraki to sail the 550km to the closest port.

The man, believed to be a New Zealander in his 60s, was left pinned under an auger, a large spiral machine used to process fish products, until the Sealord-owned vessel reaches land.

The man was in a stable condition last night, a Rescue Co-ordination Centre spokeswoman said.

St John's received a call from the Christchurch ambulance service about 8.20am yesterday advising it that the man was trapped, a spokeswoman for the Ambulance Regional Communications Centre in Dunedin said.

Sealord had told the Christchurch service about the incident and the Aoraki's crew emailed photos of the man's injuries to Dunedin intensive care specialists.

St John's paramedic Doug Flett, who is based in Dunedin, flew to Invercargill to meet a two-man crew from Te Anau-based Southern Lakes Helicopters.

Helicopter winch operator Lloyd Matheson said the trio left Invercargill about 11am for the Aoraki, stopping to refuel at Enderby Island, 290km west of the vessel's position.

A Partenavia plane from Invercargill-based Southern Wings Aviation School shadowed the helicopter to allow its pilot, Richard Hayes, to stay in contact with Invercargill Airport.

Mr Flett was winched down to the man about 2.30pm, Mr Matheson said.

From that moment, plans changed. The helicopter was supposed to go back to the Auckland Islands to refuel, then fly to Invercargill with Mr Flett and the injured man.

"He [Mr Flett] assessed him and said there was no way we could get him off. We were only there two minutes," Mr Matheson said.

Mr Flett decided the man should be taken to Bluff by the Aoraki, a journey expected to take about 30 hours in the moderate seas.

"[The injuries] are not nice," Mr Matheson said. "It's going to be a long [30 hours], but he has got everything he needs. We took everything we could, including plasma, blood and surgical gear."

Rescue Co-ordination Centre spokeswoman Heidi Brook said Mr Flett took over the man's treatment from a nurse who had been on board the Aoraki, which has a crew of 40.

He was still conscious last night and was being given painkillers and oxygen.

An Air Force Orion was sent from Auckland and reached the vessel at 7.20pm. It dropped enough intravenous fluids and pain relief to treat the injured man until Bluff.

The ambulance service spokeswoman said an intensive care specialist from Dunedin was scheduled to fly to the Aoraki about 5am today and to be winched on board.

A surgeon and intensive care specialist would meet the vessel in Bluff and free the man from the auger.

- NZPA, STAFF REPORTERS

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