Titahi Bay cliff rescue: Man falls 20m down cliff, friend clings for life to vegetation

Life Flight said the man was in a very precarious position when they arrived. Photo / Supplied

A male in his late teens has had a lucky escape after being winched off the side of a cliff, clinging onto vegetation as the rock crumbled beneath him.

But his friend was seriously injured after falling 20m onto the rocks beneath. The pair were rescued by the Westpac Life Flight rescue helicopter on Tuesday evening, on a cliff off Whitireia Park Walkway in Titahi Bay.

Life Flight rescue crewman Mike Beausoleil said they received the call at 6.15pm and arrived to find the man in a "very precarious" position, clinging to bush on the side of the 30m high cliff.

"He was hanging onto just a little bit of vegetation, and the cliff was really loose, with the loose crumbly soil crumbling underneath him," he said.

Emergency services were called around 6.15pm after one of the group fell and another got stuck. Photo / Supplied

"When we winched our paramedic down to him, it was quite difficult to get anyone to stand on the cliff because it was crumbling away under the feet.

"We had to haul him up with the winch cable to get connected to him to get the harness on."

Winching had been the only option, Beausoleil said, as it was a steep fall to the rocks below.

The two people were winched to safety by Life Flight. Photo / Supplied

The man winched from the side of the cliff was "seriously stuck" though rescued without injury, but a second person had already fallen.

"He was seriously injured because he fell about 20 metres down to the rocks," he said.

"Wellington free [ambulance] staff stabilised him on the rocks, got him into a carry basket and were able to carry him over to where the helicopter was landed, and then we transported him to hospital in the helicopter."

The rescued occured on Whitireia Park Walkway in Titahi Bay. Photo / Supplied

Wellington Free Ambulance confirmed the person was flown to Wellington Hospital in a serious condition.

Beausoleil said it was unclear how the people had gotten to be on the side of the cliff, but both were lucky the incident had not been worse.

"We know that New Zealand's got beautiful outdoors and everyone loves to use it and go and spend time in the good weather, but we just hope people look after themselves."

He said the rescue had been a "great collaboration", between fire, ambulance and police services and the national air desk.