KEY POINTS:
A 19-year-old Irishman is in Nelson Hospital after falling about 18m on to rocks from a suspension bridge in the Abel Tasman National Park.
Nelson police said the man might have fallen from the Falls River bridge about 8.30am yesterday.
He suffered back and hip injuries and mild hypothermia, but was conscious when paramedics arrived.
Pilot Tim Douglas-Clifford, of Garden City Helicopters, which operates Nelson's Summit rescue helicopter, said it appeared a fellow tramper had run for 30 minutes to Torrent Bay to raise the alarm.
