Busy day for rescue helicopter

An injured woman (in blue top) is helped off the mountain. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

A woman has been injured after being hit by a tumbling boulder on Mt Ngauruhoe.

It was one of three jobs the Taupo-based Greenlea Rescue Helicopter was dispatched to yesterday.

The first involved the pre-dawn transfer of a Central Plateau resident to Waikato Hospital for urgent treatment relating to a medical event.

Late morning the helicopter was dispatched to the aid of a young woman climbing Mt Ngauruhoe who, through no fault of her own, was struck by a tumbling boulder. She suffered hand and leg injuries.

Ruapehu Alpine Rescue team members (blue/yellow helmets in photo) were flown to her aid and helped load her into the hovering helicopter from the steeply sided mountain.

The woman was flown to Taupo Hospital.

Following this the helicopter returned to Turangi to transport a child who had broken a limb while playing. The youngster was flown to Rotorua Hospital.