Teenager injured after water-ski accident

Photo / Thinkstock

An Auckland teenager was was taken to hospital with suspected back injuries today after coming off his water-skis during a school camp.

The 14-year-old boy from Sacred Heart College in Glendowie, east Auckland, was on Lake Karapiro on the Waikato River near Maungatautari, about 16km south of Cambridge, when the accident happened about 3.15pm.

He was being towed behind a boat on water-skis as part of a supervised group activity.

The Rotorua-based Bay Trust Rescue Helicopter arrived about 20 minutes later to find him already being tended to by members of his group.

Duty pilot Art Kowalski said the accident was "quite serious".

"We got up there and they "ad him patched up so he couldn't move because they thought he had spinal injuries,'' Mr Kowalski said.

Bay Trust paramedics transferred the boy onto a stretcher and flew him to Waikato Hospital with suspected spinal injuries for further treatment and observation.

The boy, who is understood to live in Whitford, was part of a group of more than 100 year nines who had been staying at the Finlay Park Adventure Camp in Maungatautari since Wednesday. A group of year 12s were also with the group to act as helpers for the annual trip.

The group returned home today.

The school's 1st XV coach Dave Dillon, who was on the camp but did not witness the incident, said the boy would be kept in hospital overnight for observation.

"He came off and he didn't feel right.

"We don't muck around with these things so we got help straight away.''

The boy's family were with him at hospital tonight but declined to comment on the incident.