A teenager has been airlifted to hospital in a serious condition after falling up to 30 metres down a beachside cliff in east Auckland.
Despite the teenage boy being seriously hurt, the situation could have been worse as he appeared lucky not to tumble a further 20m down onto the beach below, Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter intensive care paramedic Marcel Driessen said.
The boy had come to rest on a small, precarious ledge, his fall apparently broken by a bush, he said.
First on the scene was a firefighter, who abseiled down and secured the teenager with a rope.