Tauranga: Critically injured man trapped for hours

A man who had been trapped in a tractor for more than seven hours was airlifted to Waikato Hospital by the Greenlea Rescue Helicopter. Photo/Supplied.

• A man was trapped for more than seven hours in a tractor hit by a tree in Tauranga.
• He was airlifted to Waikato Hospital with critical injuries after emergency services extricated him.
• Fire, police and ambulance crews responded, with WorkSafe notified of the incident.

A badly injured man spent nearly eight hours trapped in a tractor hit by a falling tree on a Tauranga orchard, emergency services say.

The man was airlifted from Pyes Pā to Waikato Hospital with critical injuries on Friday night.

Fire and Emergency NZ Northern shift manager Michael Anderson said the service was contacted six hours after the person became trapped.

“At 7.09pm we received a report to a person who was trapped in a tractor by a fallen tree. He had been trapped since 1pm.

“Our crews worked to extricate him with the assistance of police, ambulance and helicopter crew.

“The person was removed from the tractor at 8.37pm and we left the scene with police and ambulance.”

Firefighting crews from Greerton, Tauranga and Rotorua attended.

Police and Hato Hone St John were also called.

“Our crews assessed and treated one patient who was airlifted to Waikato Hospital in a critical condition,” a Hato Hone St John spokesperson said.

The injured person was flown to hospital aboard the Taupō-based Greenlea Rescue Helicopter.

A Philips Search & Rescue Trust spokesperson said this was because the Tauranga-based Aerocool Rescue Helicopter was on another mission, and Greenlea was the closest available.

It was dispatched for a male with serious injuries following a farm-related incident.

“The patient was stabilised on scene for over an hour before being swiftly airlifted to Waikato Hospital for further treatment.”

A resident, who did not want to be named, said the helicopter had circled Williams Rd North for a landing site.

“[It] ended up landing on a farm about 8.20pm and left about 9.25pm.”

Police said WorkSafe was notified of the incident.