KEY POINTS:
A rescue team that made a mercy dash to save five Department of Conservation workers trapped on Raoul Island after a volcanic eruption last year has been recognised with an international humanitarian award.
A sixth worker, Mark Kearney, 33, disappeared while doing a routine check of the water
temperature in the island's crater lake and his body was never found.
The Taupo rescue helicopter crew flew to Raoul Island within hours of the eruption to rescue the five other trapped workers, and to try to retrieve Mr Kearney's body.
Last week, the crew received the Igor Sikorsky Award for Humanitarian Service from the Helicopter Association International for their efforts in rescuing the DOC staff.
The award is presented to the persons who best demonstrate the value of civil rotorcraft to society by saving lives, protecting property and aiding those in distress.
Other recipients of the award include the crews who took part in the relief efforts following Hurricane Katrina, the Chernobyl nuclear power station accident, and the Twin Towers disaster.
The crew of ER-MHH, a huge twin-engine Russian helicopter based in Taupo and owned by Heli-Harvest, installed long-range tanks into their helicopter for the five-hour and 1000km journey across the Pacific Ocean.
When the crew arrived, they located the DOC workers and conducted an aerial surveillance within the active crater area for Mr Kearney.
The crew then flew the survivors back to New Zealand that same night.
Helicopter Association International said the crew showed "tremendous bravery and a calm demeanour during a stressful situation".
"Their quick response saved five lives. This extraordinary team worked together as one."
The five crew members are pilots Alexey Ostapenko and John Funnell, flight engineer Oleg Pazynitch, engineer Alexander Ivlev and crewman Senior Constable Barry Shepherd, of Taupo police.
Mr Shepherd said the award was a special honour within the helicopter industry.
Taupo was fortunate to have so many experienced search and rescue personnel who understood the importance of teamwork, he said.
Mr Funnell said the team was fortunate the operation went as smoothly as it did, given the conditions at Raoul Island.
Volcanic ash was still in the air when the rescue team arrived, and visibility was low.
"Co-operation from surviving DOC team members -- despite the ordeal they had been through and the shock over the loss of their comrade, their professionalism and calmness enabled us to carry out our role quickly and efficiently," he said.
The five Taupo crew members formally received the award at the International Heli-Expo in Orlando, Florida.
- NZPA
