Photo: Peter de Graaf
A person critically injured in a quad bike accident earlier today has been airlifted to hospital after a challenging rescue involving a helicopter and a coastguard vessel.
A police spokesperson said the bike rolled in a remote area at Oteko Point, near Whangaroa Harbour, trapping a person underneath.
The alarm was raised just after 11am but it was not clear what time the crash occurred.
Firefighters from the Kāeo, Kerikeri and Mangōnui brigades - along with the Northland Rescue Helicopter - were initially sent to Matangirau, the nearest settlement.
But there was no road access to the accident scene, so a coastguard boat was dispatched to Whangaroa wharf to collect firefighters and take them closer to the scene.
The patient was eventually winched on board the rescue helicopter at about 2.15pm, and flown to Whangarei Hospital in a critical condition.
It was just the latest serious quadbike accident in the Far North in recent months.
A child died in a roll-over at Umawera in August and a woman was critically injured at Mangamuka earlier this month.
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