Rescue helicopters kept busy with multiple accidents in Upper North Island

Rescue helicopters from Auckland and Waikato attended two separate vehicle crashes yesterday, and several other accidents.

A vehicle rolled several times into a paddock in Te Kawa, south of Te Awamutu in rural Waikato yesterday afternoon.

The Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter was called to the scene to attend to a 50-year-old man with back and chest injuries.

He was flown to Waikato Hospital in a stable condition.

The Auckland rescue helicopter was called to another vehicle crash in Whitianga, where one truck crashed into the back of another, heavier truck.

A woman in her 40s was flown to Auckland City Hospital in a serious condition after being trapped in the light truck's cab for an hour.

Later that day, the Whitianga crew flew to Paeroa after a man in his 30s suffered burns to his head, neck and shoulders from hot water and acid cleaning equipment in a cow shed.

He was taken to Waikato Hospital in a moderate condition.

The Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter also responded to a woman in her 60s who broke her leg after falling from a ladder. She was also in a moderate condition.