Christchurch search and rescue volunteers undertook a daring rescue after a man fell 100m down a gully on Monday night.
Three rescuers had to swim to the patient who was trapped on rocks below the Godley Head lighthouse with scrapes and cuts to his chest.
Coastguard Sumner president Blair Quane said the man was lucky he was not more badly hurt.
“He was lucky he slid and didn’t tumble. You could easily get a head injury if you fell like that.”
Coastguard volunteers and the Sumner and Taylors Mistake surf lifesaving clubs were sent out on the rescue mission at 6.53pm.
Another person with the patient at the time of the fall called 111. Quane was unsure why the pair had been in the area.
The crew on the coastguard’s Hamilton Jet Rescue first located the man about 14 minutes after the emergency call was received.
The extraction was described as "tricky" due to the rescue boat having to manoeuvre into a narrow inlet between rocks.
“It was a challenging spot up a tight little canyon.
"There was quite a bit of water movement back and forth, so it definitely was one of the more challenging rescues we’ve done,” Quane said.
Two coastguard volunteers and a surf lifesaving member swam 50m to the man after waiting for the swell to go down.
He was medically checked and wrapped in warm clothing for the journey back to the coastguard station before being taken to hospital by ambulance for further treatment.
Quane said it was a challenging rescue which required precision and teamwork.
“It was all about timing, and we had to utilise all our assets to make sure operations went smoothly and quickly.”
Daylight was also fading fast which put the rescue on a countdown.
“The temperature was dropping, so we couldn’t mess around for too long. We had to extract him before it got colder and darker and all the complexities that come along with that.”
Volunteers monitored the rescue operation through a drone which recorded a video of the dramatic action.
