Man rescued after injury at salmon farm

A 32-year-old Picton man was flown to Nelson Hospital in a serious condition after injuring his back and chest while at work on a salmon farm in Waihinau Bay about 9am yesterday.

St John team manager Gary Tobin said the man injured his back while pulling “some kind of heavy line” out of the water.

“He was on a platform on the water. He was in quite a serious condition and unable to move. He was in a lot of pain,” he said.

A paramedic onboard the Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter was taken to the farm by boat and treated the man at the scene.

The paramedic was able to get the man back to shore on the boat, and he was flown to hospital.

Mr Tobin said the rescue helicopter also picked up a 6-year-old girl from D'Urville Island on the way back to Nelson. The girl had “lopped” off the end of her finger while using a paua shell opener.

“It was fortunate timing for her, otherwise she might have had a long trip by boat.”

- © Fairfax NZ News