Rescue chopper is vital

A rescue helicopter was deployed to rescue a girl who had fallen down while on a scenic walk.

Good Samaritans - one a professional and the other two brothers who acted quickly - have saved two Wairarapa people from near certain death.

Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter pilot Chris Moody plucked a Masterton girl from the side of a steep slope above the Manawatu Gorge on Saturday and on the same day a 12-year-old boy from Pahiatua owed his life to brothers Daniel and Thomas Watson who found him unconscious - and to all intents and purposes drowned - on the bed of the Mangatainoka River and managed to revive him.

Stories on both rescues were published in the Times-Age this week and bring home to all of us just how fragile life is, but also in the first instance how essential rescue services are.

The helicopter ended what must have been a terrifying experience for the Masterton girl who had fallen while on a scenic walk at the top of the gorge and thankfully managed to stop her fall 30m below. Otherwise she faced a plunge of several hundred metres to the bitumen road below, a fall which would likely have ended in her death. Likewise the river rescue in Pahiatua can be credited to alert and level-headed work by the brothers who doubtless saved a boy's life.

Drownings are all too common in New Zealand and we are just now embarking on summer, the months when most river and pool drownings occur. Rivers are wonderful recreational resources but they are also dangerous. The power of running water is immense and even the strongest swimmers need to be wary of getting out of their depth.

Rescue helicopters are also a remarkable resource and it is troubling to know the essential service they all provide depends on the generosity of ordinary people. From what I have been told, most rescue helicopter services lead a hand-to-mouth existence and funds are always scarce.

From a Wairarapa viewpoint it is quite staggering how many times we call on the services of air ambulances and the costs incurred in keeping those wonderful machines and their crews flying are likewise staggering. So next time you see the rescue pilots and staff collecting, do the district a favour and contribute. You never know, one day it could be your family who needs to call them.