New Zealand’s largest fault line, the Alpine Fault, has just ruptured in Central Otago’s Pisa Conservation Area.
A man, hypothermic and barely conscious after being found in a creek bed, is carried to a New Zealand Army medical detachment for treatment.
While specialists begin treatment, others prepare a tent to stabilise the man before emergency services arrive.
Luckily, this is only a training exercise conducted by about two dozen New Zealand Army medical personnel. The mountain rescue drill took place at the Snow Farm Nordic Ski Area.
Perched high in the Pisa Range, the site was chosen for its remoteness and existing infrastructure.
Though only a drill, it reflected a genuine threat, as scientists estimate a 75% chance of a magnitude 8.0 or stronger Alpine Fault quake within 50 years.
Most participants were part-time Reserve Force medics with civilian experience alongside a small number of Regular Force personnel.
In a statement, Deployable Health Organisation commanding officer Lieutenant-colonel Glen Whitton said alpine exercises offered a unique chance to adapt to altitude and isolation.
"Medical training is normally focused on combat scenarios.
"However, we assist in humanitarian and disaster relief in New Zealand and the Pacific.
"The likelihood is we will be called on to respond potentially to humanitarian and disaster emergencies," he said.
The teams, each made up of a commander, doctor, nurse and two medics, practised two response methods.
One method used a mobile detachment that drove a New Zealand Army Pinzgauer vehicle to reach casualties quickly.
They erected a portable 11m x 11m tent and delivered treatment under basic conditions.
The second detachment used existing hard-standing buildings, operating from a remote alpine hut.
Senior medic and training facilitator Sergeant Danny Freestone said the medical detachments were designed to triage and stabilise a patient on or near the location of their injury, giving them a higher rate of survival.
"Once stabilised, ideally emergency services would extract them from the location to the nearest hospital." — APL
