A Tauranga man was winched to safety after falling and injuring his leg near the Franz Josef Glacier in South Westland yesterday.
The 26-year-old man was on a day tramp on the Alex Knob track - which climbs from the floor of the glacier valley to the summit of the 1300 metre Alex Knob peak - when the accident occurred on a steep section of the track near the bush line around 1pm.
One of the man's companions walked out to raise the alarm, police were notified and the New Zealand Coal and Carbon Rescue Helicopter was dispatched from Greymouth to rescue the man.
He was located at 4.20pm and a St John Paramedic was winched down to provide treatment for a suspected broken leg. He was then flown to Christchurch Hospital for treatment.
