Helicopter airlifts casualty out of truck cabin after crash

Two people had to be airlifted from the site of a serious truck crash in Manawatu Gorge, New Zealand on 8 July.

Despite very strong winds and rain making flying conditions difficult, the Palmerston North rescue helicopter successfully extracted both casualties from the scene of the accident, after being dispatched late morning to the crash site. An advanced paramedic was winched down to assist with the medevac of those injured in the crash.

Phillips Search & Rescue Trust, who operate the Palmerston helicopter, said that one casualty was winched from the truck’s cabin, whilst the other was picked up from near the truck. The truck had fallen into the gorge itself, and the paramedic spent an hour in the water with the patient who was stuck in the cabin trying to free him.

Both were then flown to the helicopter’s landing site, where they were met by ground ambulances that transported them to the nearest hospital, said Phillips Search & Rescue Trust.