Boy hurts neck diving into river

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

A BOY was taken to Gisborne Hospital yesterday afternoon after he suffered a neck injury when he dived into the Waimata River at Anzac Park.

A fire service crew on the way back to the city from the car crash at Turihaua were diverted to the park at about 4pm.

“When we arrived other people at the scene were supporting the 12-year-old boy on his back in the water,” a senior firefighter said.

“They had done the right thing and not tried to move him out of the water.

“We put a neck collar on him, got him out on to the bank, monitored him and kept him warm until a St John ambulance arrived.”

The lad was taken to the hospital’s emergency department.

“He was admitted to a general ward for observation and is in a stable condition,” a hospital spokeswoman said this morning.

“The firefighters did a really good job until we got there,” a St John spokesman said.

“They controlled the situation very well.”