Critically injured person trapped in wreckage of crushed campervan

A critically injured person has been freed from the wreckage of a campervan by emergency services and a digger, more than two hours after a tree fell on the vehicle and trapped them inside.

The incident unfolded in the rural Canterbury settlement of Balmoral in the Hurunui district on Sunday night.

A Fire and Emergency NZ spokesperson said they received reports about the fallen tree just before 7.30pm.

Two crews from the Culverden and Amberley stations were called to help rescue the person.

“When they arrived, they found a large tree that had fallen on the caravan," the Fenz spokesperson said.

Hato Hone St John staff had been treating the patient while they were still trapped in the wreckage.

The patient had critical injuries and was transported to hospital by road.

Fenz shift manager Simon Lyford said the complicated rescue required heavy machinery and lasted several hours.

A local contractor's digger and a farmer's tractor were brought in to help move the tree.

The fire crews were able to remove the trunk of the tree using the digger.

The person was extricated from the wreck just before 10pm.

It was not clear if the incident was caused by the weather, although there were severe thunderstorm warnings in the area on Sunday, the Fenz spokesperson said.

Efforts to send a rescue helicopter to the scene were unsuccessful as it had to be stood down due to the weather.

The injured person was instead transported to hospital by road.