Man in critical condition after farm crash east of Hastings

The Lowe Corporation Hawke's Bay Rescue Helicopter returning to Hastings on Wednesday with a farmer injured a crash on a property off Kahuranaki Rd. Photo / Paul Taylor

A man is in a critical condition in the intensive care unit of Hawke's Bay Hospital after being rescued from a farm vehicle crashed on remote country east of Hastings.

It was confirmed today that two men, one in his 70s and the other in his 40s, were on the vehicle when it rolled about 15 metres down a hillside at a property off Kahuranaki Rd yesterday .

The older man, who was trapped beneath the vehicle, was rescued by Fire and Emergency NZ crews from Hastings and Havelock North and flown by Lowe Corporation Hawke's Bay Rescue Helicopter.

But Havelock North volunteer brigade chief fire officer Rod Triplow, who was among the eight winched down to the crash site to carry out the rescue, said the second man walked around and ultimately decided to walk out rather than accept the lift on a helicopter.

He later went to hospital and was assessed for minor injuries but wasn't admitted, said Hawke's Bay District Health Board staff.

Emergency services were called at 12.09pm. A helicopter called in from Palmerston North flew them out afterwards, with the Hawke's Bay helicopter having another emergency flight to Wellington at about the time it landed in Hastings.

Triplow said that other than the steepness of the terrain and the remote location the rescue wasn't particularly difficult. The cage on the vehicle was able to be cut with such equipment as a battery-operated grinder.

The side-by-side vehicle had settled in a position on the hillside in a situation where it could have rolled further if it had had greater momentum.

"We had to cut a few bits off the cage, but he wasn't too badly trapped to get him out," Triplow said.

The rescuers, including four from the volunteer brigade with jobs to go back to, had only a short wait before the arrival of the second helicopter to retrieve them.

Triplow said the rescue was good teamwork, with the Maraetotara Volunteer Brigade also involved at the landing site, and the co-ordination of the other services.