Coastguard and emergency volunteers gather outside Coastguard Sumner building with paragliding chute in foreground. Photo / Coastguard
Rescue crews found a paraglider “unresponsive” in the sea after they overshot their landing and flew into the ocean off the Christchurch coast.
A police spokesperson said they received a report at 11.50am that a paraglider had landed in the sea.
“I understand they are visible and resources are being deployed to reach them.”
A witness said: “All the sirens have gone off ... All hands on deck. Must be serious.”
Coastguard spokeswoman Kimberley Waters said Coastguard Sumner was alerted and responded within 10 minutes, launching two rescue vessels, jet boat HamiltonJet Rescue and jetski Ian Dewe Rescue.
“With a stiff northeast wind blowing, conditions were challenging as the crew located the paraglider entangled in their chute,” Waters said.
She said two Coastguard NZ volunteers onboard were trained medical professionals.
The volunteers “entered the water and found the individual initially unresponsive, but breathing”.
“They freed them from the chute and brought them onboard HamiltonJet Rescue.”
Waters said the vessel beached at Taylor’s Mistake, where the patient was handed over to Fire and Emergency New Zealand and transferred to a waiting Hato Hone St John ambulance.
In total, 20 Coastguard volunteers responded to the incident, both on the water and on shore.
A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said they were deployed to the area, but could not give any more information.
Hato Hone St John said their crews assessed two patients, one was uninjured and the other was treated and transported to Christchurch Hospital in a serious condition.
“I can confirm we were notified of a light aircraft incident in Taylor’s Mistake at 11.55am and responded with two ambulances, two managers, one first response unit and one helicopter,” St John said.
Waters said Coastguard understood there was a second paraglider, but they didn’t enter the water.
Coastguard volunteers had “just attended the local Anzac Day service in Sumner and were gathered outside the site of the old RSA when the call came through, enabling a rapid response,” she said.
Nick Reid’s property is under immediate threat from the floodwaters.