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Police said the incident was reported to have occurred “right on the Mahia Peninsula” and that the closest road they have been given is Nukutaurua Rd. Photo / Google
One person has suffered moderate injuries after his helicopter crashed while doing agricultural work in rural Mahia.
The pilot was the only person on board and was doing agricultural work when it sank, said a spokesman for the New Zealand Rescue Coordination Center.
He had been coordinating the response to the Robinson 44 helicopter crash.
RCCNZ received an alert from the aircraft’s distress beacon at 6 am.
The pilot was taken to Gisborne Hospital by the Hastings rescue helicopter, the spokesman said.
Police received a call at 6.25am that a helicopter had gone down.
A spokesperson said police received the report from St John, who is said to have received a call from a member of the public.
Police said the incident occurred “right on the peninsula” and that the closest road they have been given is Mahia East Coast Rd.
Residents had confirmed that the accident occurred on private property south of Pongaroa Rd, however, those living near the scene declined to comment on the circumstances of the accident.
A Mahia East Coast Rd resident said she heard an ambulance with lights and sirens rushing towards an accident, along with a helicopter.
At one point, a fire apparatus stopped outside his home for a short time before turning again.
Since then he had seen the helicopter, which he believed to be the rescue helicopter, fly back across the ocean to Gisborne.
He said that even though they were remote, the emergency services were “excellent.”
A central communications spokeswoman for St John said a rescue helicopter, a first responder and an ambulance were dispatched to the scene.
The Civil Aviation Authority was informed of the accident.
A Rocket Lab spokesperson says the accident is unrelated to Rocket Lab operations and does not involve its team. Rocket Lab has a launch pad on the Mahia Peninsula.
The company was trying to get more information to see if it could offer assistance given the remote location.
“If we can support in any way, we absolutely will,” the spokesperson said.
The reports come less than a day after two people died and three others were seriously injured in a helicopter crash in Kaikōura.
