Car plunges off Coromandel cliff

UPDATED 3.10PM: A woman who was trapped in a car which plunged off a Coromandel cliff has now been successfully rescued.

The woman suffered moderate injuries after the vehicle she was travelling in plunged about 200m down a cliff and ended up in a river about one kilometre from the summit of the Tapu-Coroglen Road this morning.


A woman trapped in a vehicle after it plunged about 200m down a cliff on the Tapu-Coroglen Road in the Coromandel this morning has been successfully rescued. Photo: Philips Search & Rescue Trust

Northern Fire Communications shift manager Jaron Phillips says the specialist New Zealand Fire Service High-Ropes Rescue team successfully rescued the woman at about 2.30pm.

'It was a bit of a difficult rescue, hampered by the weather conditions, but the team safely got her up which is great.”

The specialist Hamilton-based rescue team was flown to the scene by the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter, which was forced to land in Tapu due to poor weather conditions.

The Auckland-based Westpac Rescue Helicopter was also dispatched to the scene but was unable to carry out a winch rescue due to weather.

Once extracted from the crash site, the woman was then transported to Thames Hospital by St John's Ambulance staff.

Emergency services were alerted to the crash this morning by the male driver who was unharmed in the accident and managed to free himself from the vehicle.

EARLIER:

Rescuers have now reached a woman trapped in a car that plunged down a Coromandel cliff this morning.

Northern Fire Communications shift manager Jaron Phillips says the woman suffered moderate injuries following the crash which occurred near the top of the hill on Tapu-Coroglen Road shortly before 11.20am.


A car has driven off the road and down a cliff on the Tapu-Coroglen Road in the Coromandel this morning. Emergency services, including two rescue helicopters, have been dispatched to the scene. File Photo.

The car ended up in a river about 150m-200m down the cliff, but Jaron is unable to confirm how much of the car is submerged.

He says the male driver, who is believed to be unharmed, managed to exit the vehicle and alert emergency services to the crash which left the female passenger trapped inside the vehicle.

'Firefighters have descended down the cliff and are with the patient now. A specialist rope rescue team are also at the scene and a preparing to bring her up the cliff.”

But Jaron says due to the foggy weather, the specialist team which was flown in from Hamilton was forced to land at Tapu.

'We would have hoped to have landed closer to the scene, but I think we've been pretty lucky to get Tapu and then drive the remaining kilometres up the hill. So it's worked out pretty well.

'I don't know how they'll get the woman up the cliff, but they're certainly the guys who can pull it off.”

EARLIER:

Emergency services are in the midst of rescuing one person from a vehicle which has driven off a cliff in the Coromandel.

Northern Fire Communications shift manager Jaron Phillips says the car ended up about 150m-200m down a cliff in bush, about 3km from the top of the Tapu-Coroglen Road on the Coroglen side of the hill, sometime before 11.20am.

'The male driver is out of the vehicle, however a female passenger was still in the vehicle when emergency services arrived.

'Firefighters are preparing to descend down the cliff using ropes to administer to first aid to the passenger. We don't believe her injuries are serious but exact information is not available at present.”

Jaron says police, St John's and fire crews from Tapu and Whitianga were dispatched to the scene at about 11.20am.

Two helicopters have also been dispatched – the Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter and a second chopper is flying a specialist rope rescue team from Hamilton.

'There's difficulty with flying at the moment as it's pretty foggy in the area.”

SunLive will update this story once more information is available.

Are you at the scene and know more?

Call 0800 SUNLIVE [0800 786 5483] or email photos to: newsroom@thesun.co.nz

You may also like....

0 comments

Leave a Comment


You must be logged in to make a comment.