One man is lucky to be alive after a fall down a Northland cliff face, stranded for more than five hours, with little to no line of communication to the outside world.
Various agencies pulled together on Saturday night, after a 53-year-old man called Police at around 9.42pm reporting he had fallen near Butterfly Bay, north of Tauranga Bay.
Detective Sergeant Ryan Cooper, Northland Search and Rescue, says initially the cell phone coverage was poor, making it difficult to pinpoint the man’s exact location.
“There were long periods where we were not able to speak to him via phone or text,” he says.
“From the first phone call we believed the man had fallen approximately 100-150ft down the cliff face, making it a threat to life.”
In an effort to locate the man a frontline Sergeant and Police SAR teams coordinated from above and below the cliff face.
“A member of SAR managed to voice appeal the man using sound line techniques,” Detective Sergeant Cooper says.
“This was very difficult to do as to be able to locate him our officer had to saddle the side of the cliff.”
At the same time the Northern Emergency Services Trust deployed its helicopter to the area, however, were unsuccessful in reaching the man due to the steep terrain and strong winds.
“Unfortunately, this was not known at the time of deployment, as we were not certain of his exact location initially,” Detective Sergeant Cooper says.
“Once we located him were we able to deploy a ropes team to the scene.”
The man was eventually winched to safety at 2.36am.
“He was extremely shaken up but miraculously hadn’t suffered any injuries aside from a few scrapes and bruises,” Detective Sergeant Cooper says.
“The man was very appreciative of his rescue and was reunited with his son back at a nearby campground.”
Detective Sergeant Cooper is pleased the operation was a success, and credits Land Search and Rescue for their work.
“It’s times like these where our LandSAR teams combined skills lead to a successful rescue,” he says.
“This rescue presented challenges with the cell phone reception and weather being a factor, but we managed to rescue the man back to safety.”
ENDS.
Amanda Wieneke/NZ Police
