Whitebaiter rescued near Buller

Farmers and St John staff came to the rescue when a 70-year-old whitebaiter dislocated his hip on the Orowaiti River yesterday afternoon.

St John Buller territory manager Robbie Blankenstein said local farmers on quad bikes helped St John get gear to the injured man. They also provided ladders and scaffolding gear so St John officers could slide the man safely over a drain on a stretcher.

"Just a couple of handy chaps with all of the kind of stuff you have lying around on a farm that we don't typically have in the back of an ambulance. They were really appreciated."

Without the farmers' help, St John would have had to winch the man off the riverbank by helicopter.

Mr Blankenstein said St John had had trouble locating him due to the vague description of his location near Stephen Road.

Because of where he was and his type of injury, a helicopter flew him directly to Grey Base Hospital.

The whitebaiter had previously had issues with his hip and dislocated it as he twisted around, Mr Blankenstein said. He had used his mobile phone to call emergency services.

Yesterday's incident was St John's second whitebaiting-related call-out of the season, Mr Blankenstein said.

St John hadn't ended up being needed in the first case, which he believed was a medical incident, as somebody else had picked up the patient by boat and transported them to hospital.

St John Buller was typically called out to a couple of whitebait-related incidents each season, he said.

He encouraged people to carry their cellphones when undertaking outdoor activities, as they never knew when they might be incapacitated. The injury suffered in yesterday's incident could have become more serious if the whitebaiter hadn't had his cellphone with him, he said.

- By Kim Fulton of the Westport News

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