Surf lifeguards were first notified to the incident unfolding 600 metres south of the club house by a member of the public. Andrew Meiklejohn was in the Comms Room (Tower) on beach duty whilst Thomas Goer (referred to as Willy) and patrol captain Chris Parker were swapping over on a flag duty.The informant arrived at the surf club and alerted Andrew to a hang glider that had crashed into the flax an estimated 300 metres south. The solitary male patient was said to be unconscious but breathing. Andrew immediately told Willy andChris about the incident. Because the lifeguards would need to follow the informant to the crash site, the decision was made to return to the clubhouse and gather additional first aid gear, such as a spinal board, to complement the AED and oxygen kits they currently had.  Andrew was assigned to operate the radios and advised SurfCom, via the rescue network, of the ongoing incident and requested that an ambulance be dispatched. On the way to the crash site Willy and Chris stopped to “drop the flags” as a safe patrolled area could no longer be maintained.

Matt Delmonte, an off duty lifeguard, saw the rescue vehicle proceeding south and went up to the club house to see what was happening and offer his assistance. As Andrew was briefing Matt, Matt overheard Chris mention on the radio that communication could be a problem at the incident scene, due to its obscure location.

Matt got another handheld radio and took a second rescue vehicle to the beach near the crash site, so that information could be relayed between the crash site and Andrew at base. This provided a vital communication link between the two other sites.

When Willy and Chris arrived at the base of the cliffs they were escorted, with the first aid gear, through dense vegetation by members of the public. It was approximately 75 metres from where the lifeguards parked and where the patient was located up and near the cliff face. It was a difficult exercise in itself, trying to get to the patient because there was no track and thick undergrowth. As they were making their way, people could be heard yelling for help and that the patient had stopped breathing.

Willy was first on the scene, and discovered that the patient was still in his harness and hanging from the hang glider about 30-50 cm above the ground.

Quickly, he got two members of the public to assist him in getting the patient down and log roll him on to his back. Willy began a primary survey while Chris was still trying to clear space to put down the first aid gear.

Willy’s primary survey revealed that the patient had, indeed, stopped breathing and was noticeably blue in colour, as well as having a clearly broken left arm. The patient was still in his harness, which had to be cut away before Willy could begin compressions. While this was happening, Chris requested the Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter for a status 1 patient, which got passed to SurfCom via Matt and then Andrew.

Willy continued with compressions as Chris set up the AED. The AED could not be applied immediately though, because of the time taken to cut away a sufficient part of the patient’s harness. Chris then sized and fitted an OP airway as well as setup the bag valve mask.

Once the harness was cut away, Willy applied the defibrillator pads and the AED went through its initial sequence. No shock was advised, so Willy and Chris got straight back into 30:2, with Chris operating the radio during the compression phases. This was when Matt was sent back to the club to bring ambulance staff down the beach and a member of the public sent to escort them to the incident site. The AED went through its procedure 3-4 times in total, with every time advising no shock be delivered. Willy and Chris continued CPR, using the bag valve mask for air delivery, for approximately 10 minutes until ambulance staff arrived. When ambulance staff arrived, Willy and Chris swapped roles of compressions and breaths, while the ambulance staff went about setting up their defibrillator and administeringthe patient adrenaline. This was when the suction unit was required, as to maintain the patient’s airway. This occurred more than once. Ambulance staff began managing the patient’s airway by using an intubation tube while Willy and Chris were alternating between roles of compression and maintaining communications.

Soon after, as Westpac Rescue Helicopter was arriving, the advanced paramedic on scene declared the patient deceased.

Although their efforts ultimately proved unsuccessful, the surf lifeguards involved gave the patient the best possible care that they could provide and the best possible chance he had of survival. The surf lifeguards involved showed great teamwork and did themselves and SLS proud with their fantastic application of skills whilst maintaining absolute professionalism.

December 2009 Regional Lifeguard Service (Kariaotahi)
Lifeguards involved: Chris Parker (Patrol Captain), Thomas Goer, Andrew Meiklejohn, Matt Delmonte,
Lee Lawrence, Jim Coe, Fiona Whyte (SurfCom Operator)