Rescue services kept busy in Wairarapa

The Westpac Rescue Helicopter was called to three separate incidents, including two rescues, on Sunday - an injured tramper, a hurt motocross rider, and a car down a bank off the Rimutaka Hill.

A 28-year-old Wellington man was injured at a motocross event in Te Ore Ore, Masterton, about 12.30pm.

Life Flight crewman Dave Greenburg said the man had come off his bike on a hill, injuring his back and abdomen.

The rider was conscious when they arrived and the paramedics administered pain relief, he said.

The man was being cared for by event organisers at the scene, before he was stabilised and airlifted to Wellington Hospital.

A hospital spokesperson said the rider was in a stable condition yesterday.

About 4.30pm, the helicopter was sent to an injured tramper in the Tararua Ranges, near Mt Holdsworth.

A 29-year-old Wellington woman injured her ankle and was unable to walk.

Her tramping partner had moved to where he could call 111 as phone reception was poor.

Mr Greenburg said the woman was in a place where she could not be winched to the helicopter, so a paramedic was dropped nearby. The paramedic then piggy-backed the woman to the winching site and brought her on to the helicopter, after walking several hundred metres in steep terrain.

The woman was taken to Wellington Hospital and discharged later the same day.

In the third incident, the helicopter pilot spotted a car about 20 metres down a bank on the Wellington side of the Rimutaka Hill Rd.

Hutt Valley police Senior Sergeant Jason McCarthy said a search and rescue team member reached the site just before 8pm. The car was believed to have been there for months, possibly years.

Life Flight responded to all three incidents with a Wellington Free Ambulance paramedic.