The Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter was called to help assist Rangitikei River white waterrafting guides with a non-fatal drowning incident earlier this week. Photo / Supplied
The Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter was called to help assist Rangitikei River white waterrafting guides with a non-fatal drowning incident earlier this week. Photo / Supplied
River guides have been hailed as heroes after saving the life of a tourist who had been trapped in the water during a rafting trip.
A team of nine keen adventurers were guided down the Rangitikei River rapids on Tuesday by four River Valley Ventures rafting guides.
According to RiverValley Ventures and rescue helicopter staff, one of the adventurers, a 22-year-old British backpacker, was thrown from her inflatable two-man kayak and had her foot trapped under a log and debris, causing her body to become fully submerged in the water for around 3 to 4 minutes.
One of the four guides spotted her and quickly dragged her out of the river.
The girl was not breathing, she had no pulse and was unresponsive.
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River Valley Ventures managing director Brian Megaw said the team of guides all worked together quickly and professionally to do all they could for the tourist.
"It's been really traumatic for everybody but the end result's been really positive."
He said that in this particular activity they tended to have a few minor bruises and bumps every season but this incident was "very out of the blue".
River Valley Ventures takes hundreds of keen adventures down the Rangitikei River rapids every year through whitewater rafting. Photo / File
Once the rescue helicopter arrived at the scene an Intensive Care Paramedic immediately assessed the 22-year-old who had come around from the CPR and was in a stable condition.
She was then taken to the River Valley Lodge for a medical assessment and then flown to Palmerston North Hospital.
Megaw said she was able to walk herself to the helicopter and was kept in hospital overnight for observation and released the next day.
"We had a big in-house debrief afterwards and the guide team went back into the river that afternoon to get better clarity of why it happened and what we could change to ensure something like that didn't happen again."
The whitewater rafting trips they hold have guides either in inflatable kayaks or in the river directing adventurers where to go, and when they get to the next point a guide will be there to catch them whether they are in the boat or out, Megaw said.
