A man in his 60s was flown to Middlemore Hospital yesterday with a suspected spinal injury after a branch hit him on the head and neck while he was felling a tree at Kawakawa Bay, southeast of Auckland.
The branch, weighing about 15kg, caused a tingling pain and weakness in one shoulder that suggested the man could have a spinal injury, according to a spokesman for the Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter.
He was flown in a moderate condition by helicopter to Middlemore Hospital, which has a spinal unit and the closest hospital to Kawakawa Bay.