Rescue Helicopter kept busy with three callouts

The Trustpower TECT Rescue Helicopter has been kept busy in the lead-up to the weekend.

The rescue helicopter was dispatched three times on Friday.

The first was about11am to rescue a man who had fallen from his kayak.

The 72-year-old had been had been kayaking with a group down the Whakatane River from Rautahuna, when he fell from his kayak and became wet and cold.

The group lit a fire to dry him out and called for help, as he was unable to continue due to a sore back.

The man did not require hospital treatment so was airlifted by the rescue helicopter to waiting family in Whakatane.

On returning to Tauranga, the rescue helicopter was dispatched again to the Redwood Forest mountain bike park in Rotorua.

A 36-year-old Wellington man had fallen from his bike, resulting in a broken leg.

Due to the location of the man, the rescue helicopter utilised the Port of Tauranga rescue winch to lift the man from the rugged terrain.

The man was treated by paramedics before being taken to Rotorua Hospital for treatment.

Later that evening, a 4-year-old boy was transferred by the rescue helicopter from Tauranga Hospital to Greenlane Hospital in Auckland for specialist treatment for a serious medical condition.