Zack Armstrong and Hernan Holliday were both presented with NZSAR Certificates of Achievement for Operational Activity.
A woman and her husband were out on a clear, frosty day enjoying a tramp when they attempted to cross the Taipo, inland from Kumara.
The husband stumbled during the crossing, knocking his wife off balance and causing her foot to become wedged between two boulders in the ice-cold water.
When it became apparent he could not rescue her on his own, the husband activated their personal locator beacon and the rescue helicopter was sent from Greymouth.
When the paramedics reached the woman she had been trapped in fast-flowing, chest-deep water for nearly an hour and was losing consciousness due to the cold.
The rescued woman recalled her ordeal and the arrival of the helicopter team.
‘‘A kind, gentle voice arrived behind me, and when I got a little stressed he said that they were going to take my pack.
‘‘Hernan promised they wouldn’t let me go. I was pretty tired, and my legs and arms were almost numb.
‘‘Both crew worked together to free my foot and get me to the bank and deal with the hypothermia’’.
The crew later described the situation as ‘‘critical’’ and said another 30 minutes in the water ‘‘could have been devastating’’.
The two paramedics worked to free the woman, Mr Armstrong submerging himself to establish how her foot had been trapped.
‘‘Freeing her required co-ordinated and intense physical effort, which took more than five minutes of exposure to the very cold, swift waters,’’ the award citation said.
Once freed from the river, the woman was given warming treatment and assessed on the riverbank before being winched into the helicopter with her husband, and flown to hospital where she was treated for hypothermia and a leg injury.
The awards are determined by the New Zealand Search and Rescue Council and presented annually.
Last year, search and rescue teams attended 3472 incidents, resulting in 138 lives saved where they would have been lost without intervention, and 777 people located and returned to a safe location. Teams also aided 928 people at low risk, adding up to 3211 people hours and 2683 operational asset hours.
- By Meg Fulford
