Our Greymouth based crew have also had a busy start to the Winter season.

Over the Queens Birthday weekend the NZCC West Coast Rescue Helicopter Crew flew 4 missions. The air rescue service responded to motor vehicle accident on Arnold Valley Road, two inter hospital transfers for patients suffering cardiac and stroke events, and an accident occurring at night that required the use of Night Vision Goggles.

The NZCC West Coast Rescue Crew was recently tasked to a job at 1750hrs, to transport a patient suffering a fall related injury to Christchurch Hospital. Crewman, Tim Robbins said, “Fog was forecast to roll in around 2000hrs but it arrived quite a bit early. We managed to land at Hagley ahead of it, drop off our patient and depart again for the coast before it swallowed the city very soon after, causing major disruption to flights in and out of the airport.” Pilot, Stu Gorrie, and Intensive Paramedic, Hernan Holliday also assisted with this rescue and inter-hospital transfer from Westport to Christchurch.

Some recent mission locations include Crow Hut on Arthurs Pass, Fox Glacier, Hari Hari and Westport. The crew’s longest missions this month each took 4.5 hours to complete. One of those missions was to retrieve a tramper from the Heaphy Track, while the other was a hospital transfer from Greymouth to Christchurch for a Status 2 cardiac arrest patient.

Night vision goggles have been required 5 times already this month and the crew carried out a winch rescue for 2 hunters that activated their PLB.