Rescue puts spotlight on Te Mata Peak safety

HIGHSPOT: Te Mata Peak is a favourite wild and rugged place for many local people but it also poses some risks.PHOTO/FILE

The Te Mata Park Trust and Hastings District Council have cautioned against overregulation of safety on the peak, after a young boy fell down a trail and was airlifted to hospital.

The boy, 8, was winched to safety in a complex mission by the rescue helicopter, after he fell about 10 metres down a steep goat track.

The Lowe Corporation rescue helicopter crew was called to the remote area about 5pm on Saturday, after the boy suffered neck and leg injuries.

They were alerted to an accident "on a goat track out the back of Te Mata Peak".

"It was pretty minimal information really," said helicopter pilot Jeremy Bruce. "But one of the boy's parents was flashing a light at us. We could see it as we were flying over Havelock."

What unfolded was a complex winching operation on a northern ridge in the park, with the helicopter crew having to contend with fading daylight and strong winds.

"They were on a very steep, narrow track that comes down on to quite a thin ridge, which we couldn't actually land on. The boy was lying on a grass bank below the ridge.

"While [the boy] was walking with his parents down the steep section, he must have tripped and stumbled and fallen about 10m down the track. From what I could see, he's very lucky it wasn't more serious."

The crew winched a paramedic down to the boy's aid. The paramedic ascertained he would need to put the boy on a stretcher and have him winched into the helicopter. By this time, they were working in near darkness and the crew had to use night-vision goggles.

The helicopter returned to a high hover as it was battered by strong winds and winched the boy in a stretcher to safety. He was flown to Hawke's Bay Hospital for further treatment but was discharged yesterday.

Te Mata Park Trust Board chairman Bruno Chambers said he was sorry to hear about the incident and would investigate where it happened.

"There's a lot of bluffs people could ostensibly fall off, and there's areas where people need to take care, but we're reluctant to be overly strict in our application of handrails.

"My feeling is the park is very much an open space environment, where people can feel they're in a fairly unaltered place. There may be an argument in certain places, for putting a handrail or rope that is of minimal visual impact, but that's something we'll have to consider."

Hastings Mayor Lawrence Yule said greater regulation of park safety was not the answer.

"Ultimately, we want that park to be enjoyed by people as a wilderness park, and I think putting handrails all over the place is not in keeping with that."