Woman climber who fell to her death at Castle Rock identified as US citizen

The Auckland Rescue Helicopter in the Castle Rock area on the Coromandel Peninsula. Photo / ARHT

A woman who fell to her death while climbing a popular cliff face in the Coromandel has been identified as a 28-year-old United States citizen.

Emergency services were called to Castle Rock near Whitianga just before 10.30am yesterday after reports of a climbing incident.

The woman died at the scene. The deceased is believed to be a 28-year-old United States citizen who was living in New Zealand.

Waikato Police are working closely with the United States Consulate, who are in contact with the woman's family and the Coroner's office. A full post-mortem will be conducted on Tuesday.

Intensive Care Paramedic Marcel Driessen was winched down to assess the climber. Photo / Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust

Inquiries are ongoing to understand the circumstances of the woman's death.

An Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust spokesperson said the woman suffered a fall of approximately 70-80 metres down a vertical cliff face while rock climbing.

Her climbing partner then hurried to raise the alarm.

Because of the difficult access to the site, Intensive Care Paramedic Marcel Driessen was winched down to assess the patient who sadly had no signs of life, ARHT said.

Pilot James Tayler said it was quite tricky manoeuvring the paramedic to the patient.

"There was a 100m rock wall that we had to tuck in pretty close to in order to get him down, and there was quite steep terrain underneath," he said.

"We were also concerned about another climber that was on the cliff face just above, so we did not want to disturb him.

"We had to lower the paramedic through the canopy of trees, so we had to be pretty precise."

Eastern Waikato Detective Chris Smith told Stuff as a result of the fall, the woman sustained non-survivable injuries and passed away.

Her body was walked out of the bush with the help of Search and Rescue teams.

Smith said police are still making inquiries to ascertain the woman's level of climbing experience.

Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) doctor Tony Smith walks through bush to get to the scene of the tragedy. Photo / Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust

Kuaotunu Land SAR, Coromandel Fire Rescue, St John Ambulance and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter attended the incident.

Castle Rock is a 525m high mountain which is popular with rock climbers.

Earlier this year the body of Shannon Earle Makowharemahihi was found at the bottom of Castle Rock.

The 37-year-old local man's body was found in dense bush in the area around Castle Rock on June 23, after he had been missing for three weeks.

Mako was last seen on June 1, and was reported missing on June 9. His vehicle was located on June 12 in the area of Castle Rock.

Mako was a recreational climber who was very comfortable in the bush environment.

The cause of his death is the subject of a coronial inquiry.