Video shows the extent of flooding as Ngongotaha Stream breached in Rotorua on Tuesday. Video / Supplied
Two Rotorua linesmen have described rushing into frigid floodwaters to rescue a woman trapped in a sinking car and running out of air.
Unison team members Sam Rangi and Shivam Chandra have been praised by police for their actions during the rescue near Ngakuru, south of Rotoruain Waikato, during Tuesday’s storm.
Heavy rainfall caused streams to rise rapidly and surface flooding on roads, with some Ngongotahā residents advised to evacuate as 127mm of rain fell in 24 hours.
Rangi said the woman was in her 70s and told them her GPS had directed her “the wrong way” to the flooded road as she drove to visit Tyburn Monastery in Waikite Valley.
Only the roof of the vehicle was visible after the rescue. Photo / Police
“I think she just underestimated it, you know, a lot of people do that, to be honest,” he said.
“We saved a life, we actually managed to save a life and that’s the important part,” said Chandra.
Police have said the woman made a distress call at 12.59pm, telling the call taker she could not open the doors or windows and the water was up to her chest and rising.
Units, a helicopter and a water rescue team were sent, but the two linesmen reached her first.
The pair, who had worked together for two months, told the Rotorua Daily Post they were at a regular maintenance call on Waikaukau Rd when they noticed the Subaru Legacy partially submerged in water.
Chandra said if they had not seen her hand pressed against the car window, they would have carried on driving.
Rangi said their work training kicked in.
Rangi grabbed a hammer from the work van and they both rushed into the water.
“The water was pretty cold too, it wasn’t really running fast but as I got closer, I could see that she was starting to reach for air,” Rangi said.
Police praised the actions of two lines company workers who saved a woman from this car near Ngakuru. Photo / Police
He said the car began sinking quickly.
“She was scared aye, anyone would be in that situation,” Chandra said.
Rangi said the woman was in the front passenger seat when he got to her so he smashed the driver’s window.
“By the time she got in there, the car cut out and started floating, the windows were jammed,” Rangi said.
Waikaukau Rd where a woman was rescued from her flooded car on Tuesday. Photo / Google Maps
Getting her out of the car was difficult due to how much the car had sunk.
