Helicopter Rescues Injured Boy

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32385, 26 August 1970, Page 1

Helicopter Rescues Injured Boy

A 15-year-old boy, injured in a 100 ft fall while climbing in Arthur’s Pass National Park, was winched into a helicopter from where he came to rest 4000 ft up on a steep shingle face and flown to safety in the gathering dusk last evening.

The boy, Peter Reid, of 11 Paroa Road, Greymouth, was admitted to Greymouth Hospital with a broken leg and head injuries. His condition last night was satisfactory.

He had been climbing with Mr D. S. Roberts, a 25-year-old schoolteacher, also from Greymouth, who is a member of the Greymouth-based mountain rescue team.

They had entered the area from Otira on Monday and had made their way up the Rolleston River, intending to elimb in the Waimakarirl Col region. They spent the night in the river valley and were continuing up the river on the western bank yesterday morning when the accident occurred. “We were up about 4000 ft and sidling along a fairly steep snow-covered slope which was a bit soft underfoot,” Mr Roberts said last evening. “It was still reasonably safe, but to make things easier I decided we should shed our packs and pull them up' on our rope as we climbed,” | he said. “About 11.30 a.m. 1 took ai rope up a pitch and began to haul my pack Peter was be-’

low me with his pack but out of my sight. Apparently he started to climb up after me with his pack on.

Out Of Sight

“I didn’t actually see him fall,” Mr Roberts said, “but he must have gone down a snow chute, or two chutes, and then I saw him out on the slope before me. He slithered across the slope and dropped out of my sight again behind a rock and down on to the shingle slide. “We were both wearing crampons, but Peter let go of his ice axe as he fell and ■didn’t have any way to stop [himself,” he said. . “It took me a fair while to [get down because my pack became a handicap and I had ’to lower it so far and then

climb down to it and lower it again. “When I got to him I saw he was pretty knocked about so I tied his leg to the ice-axe for a splint,, put him in a sleeping bag and covered him with the tent fly. I left him with some food and a billy of snow water and went to get help.

“I went only in what I stood in and it took me about two to two and a half hours to get out to Otira,” said Mr Roberts. Parties Organised The police were notified and two parties were organised—a fast party to get to the boy and, if necessary, to stay the night with him and a stretcher party, which it was estimated would take about five hours to reach the boy. At 4 p.m. the Greymoutb police asked the Royal New Zealand Air Force base at Wigram if one of the Iro-

quois helicopters, stationed there only recently, was available. A helicopter piloted by Squadron Leader D. Buckmaster, left Wigram at 4.21 p.m. for Otira where it landed at 4.55 p.m., took on the district nurse, Mrs S. Bellis, and Mr Roberts and left nine minutes later.

Winched Up “They were able to drop us about 50 yards away from where Peter was lying and after he was made comfortable the helicopter winched him up,” said Mr Roberts. The helicopter flew back to Otira where the boy was transferred to an ambulance and taken to Greymouth. The helicopter was back at 6.30 p.m

“It was just as well the helicopter was down here and available; otherwise they would not have been able to bring Peter out tonight,” Mr Roberts said. “I was worried in case they hadn’t been able to get a helicopter and the fast party could not find him by dusk. “It’s a rough track up the valley and easy to get lost A stretcher party couldn’t possibly have got there before dark and even if they had they couldn’t have brought him out during the night," he said.