Locator beacon makes for a speedy rescue for injured trout angler

A Lowe Corporation Rescue helicopter during a rescue mission in the Kaweka Forest on Monday. Photo / Supplied

Within minutes of a woman calling for help after falling and being left unable to walk in the remote Kaweka Forest, rescuers were on the way.

It was only because the 60-year-old woman and her partner activated a personal locator beacon that the Hawke's Bay rescue helicopter was able locate the pair quickly.

The pair were trout fishing on the Ngaruroro River in the Kaweka Ranges when the woman fell and hurt her leg.

Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter general manager Ian Wilmot confirmed the crew were alerted to the incident at about 2.45pm on Monday and were airborne within six minutes.

It was likely the couple wouldn't have had cellphone reception where they were fishing, he said.

"[The job] wasn't hard because they'd activated the beacon, so they had a really good location on where they were.

"Beacons make our job easier," he said, as they provide an exact location of a person's location.

"[It's] relatively easy to just fly in and get them."

The crew landed nearby the injured woman and transported her to the hospital.

While the trout fishing season is coming to a close, the deer hunting season has just begun.

Today's rescue comes as a reminder of the importance of personal locator beacons for those making the most of the roar.

"From our point of view, if any hunters are going to be out there and in trouble, it's going to make our job easier if they've got a personal locator beacon with them."

Today's rescue follows another Hawke's Bay rescue late last week, where the Lowe Corporation Rescue Helicopter crew picked up a hunter and his dog from the Ruahine Range near Tikokino.

The hunter was overdue by a day and his family had just spoken with police when he activated his personal locator beacon.

Wilmot said at the time that there'd likely be a few more hunters picked up with the yearly hunting season just beginning and emphasised the importance of hunters having a PLB on them and being prepared.

Chief executive of the New Zealand Mountain Safety Council Mike Daisley said locator beacons were a great idea for hunters heading out into the forest but acknowledged that they can be expensive.

"A lot of New Zealand's backcountry and bush is not covered very well by cellphone,

"The short version is you can't rely on your cellphone as a means of communication."

The "absolute minimum" for hunters heading out into the wilderness would be to leave detailed information with friends or family about where they intend to go and when you intend to return.