A 12-year-old Auckland schoolgirl has been rescued after injuring herself when she fell down a bank in the Karangahake Gorge this afternoon.
An adult who was with the school trip said the girl accidentally stepped off the edge of the track which runs along the bank of the Ohinemuri River, about 10km southeast of Paeroa.
She fell several metres down the bank but stopped short of landing in the water.
St John emergency staff placed the girl on a spinal board, as they suspected spinal injuries, and Paeroa volunteer firefighters carried her out of the area.
She was taken to Paeroa by ambulance, and then transferred to hospital by helicopter.
