A Life Flight Trust team has had a busy Sunday with the helicopter responding to 3 missions.

In the first mission at approximately 10.00 this morning Life Flight was responded to a call from an injured hunter in the Orongaronga Valley to the south east of Wellington. The Westpac Rescue Helicopter, with a Wellington Free Ambulance paramedic onboard, was able to locate the hunter, a 47 year old Wellington man, on a steep hillside. The Paramedic was able step off the helicopter onto a small rocky outcrop and then make his way to the patient. Due to the terrain the Paramedic and patient were winched back into the helicopter before being flown to Wellington Hospital Emergency Department. The hunter is being assessed and treated for a knee injury.

The second mission involved a transfer of a small baby from Masterton Hospital. The helicopter transported a Wellington Hospital Neonatal Team with an incubator to Masterton and returned the baby and medical team to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Wellington Hospital.

The third mission once again involved a knee injury. A 53 year old man and his young son were tramping in the Tararua Ranges when the man injured his knee late yesterday. The pair spent the night at the Tutuwai Hut before members of another party tramped out to cellphone coverage and raised the alarm. The Westpac Rescue Helicopter, with a Wellington Free Ambulance paramedic onboard, was able to land near the hut and the injured tramper and his son were airlifted to Wellington Hospital Emergency Department for treatment.

The Life Flight Trust fixed wing Air Ambulance has also been called upon to transport a patient from Nelson Hospital to Wellington Hospital Intensive Care Unit this afternoon. No further details are available regarding this patient at this time.

The Life Flight Trust is a charity providing air rescue and air ambulance services. It operates the Wellington based Westpac Rescue Helicopter and a national air ambulance service. It relies on support from the public and sponsorship from partners such as Westpac to provide these services. Further information can be obtained from www.lifeflight.org.nz

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