KEY POINTS:
A 16-year-old seriously injured after falling 50 metres down a mountain in the central north Island is a stable condition in hospital this morning.
The teenager had been walking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing with friends when he slipped and fell on Mt Ngauruhoe about 9.30am yesterday, Taupo-based Youthtown Trust Rescue Helicopter pilot Hendry de Waal said.
"He was about halfway up when he fell. It's a 45 degree angle slope he went down. Then a lot of rocks fell afterwards, hitting him," Mr de Waal told the Dominion Post.
"He was talking but was in a lot of pain and coughing up blood."
He suffered head, neck and shoulder injuries.
He was flown to Waikato hospital about 10am.
A hospital spokeswoman said this morning he was being observed in one of the wards and was in a stable condition.
The crossing, which at least two people have died attempting, is considered the best one-day trek in New Zealand.
- NZPA
