Busy evening for Wellington Westpac Rescue Helicopter
13/12/2008
The Wellington based Westpac Rescue Helicopter has had a busy evening, after picking up a woman suffering from a heart attack on the South Island and then a woman who severely broke her leg on Wellington's Mt Victoria.
Just before 5pm the NZ Rescue Coordination Centre notified the helicopter crew that there was a 406 beacon going off on Mt Owen, in the South Island. Because the Nelson Rescue Helicopter was already on a mission the Westpac helicopter was sent.
While enroute the helicopter crew was notified that more information was available about the beacon going off, because it was one of the new 406 MHz digital beacons.
"Thanks to the 406 beacon sending more information then the old type beacons the rescue coordination centre knew the exact location of the beacon, who the beacon belonged to and were able to find out where the people with the beacon were headed" says Westpac Rescue Helicopter crewman Dave Greenberg. "The GPS equipped beacons take a lot of search out of 'search and rescue' and allowed us to find a woman suffering from a heart attack without delay".
On our arrival our Wellington Free Ambulance paramedic began treating a 57 year old Stoke woman who appeared to be having a heart attack. The group was with a tramping club group walking towards Granity Pass Hut on Mt Owen when she began to have chest pains. When the pain did not let up the group decided to set off the beacon.
"The beacon probably saved her life" says Greenberg. "We had her in Nelson Hospital within 20 minutes of taking off from the mountain".
The woman is being treated in Nelson Hospital.
Soon after arriving back at Wellington Airport the Westpac Rescue Helicopter was called to Mt Victoria in the middle of Wellington. A 19 year old woman fell and severely broke her leg and Wellington Free Ambulance paramedics felt it was safer for the patient to be flown, instead of a 20-30 minute carry down a steep hill.
The Te Aro woman is currently being treated in Wellington Hospital.
For more information on either mission please contact:
Dave Greenberg
Westpac Rescue Helicopter
029 233 8284
