A person with moderate injuries was airlifted to Southland Hospital after a rock fell on their leg while they were believed to be rock climbing at The Chasm, near Milford, shortly after 1pm yesterday (Thursday, 22 Jan) afternoon.

The Otago Southland Rescue Helicopter flew in to retrieve the injured person and Police say it appeared that a rock fell on their leg. “However, they were able to free themselves,” a Police spokesperson says.

A spokesperson for St John Ambulance says they were notified just after 1pm and dispatched one helicopter to the scene.

Sergeant Tod Hollebon, of Te Anau, says there were also two helicopter rescues the previous day on Wednesday – one to rescue two Dunedin climbers who’d become bluffed on Mount Crosscut in the Darran Mountains.

It’s understood one of the climbers may have lost an ice axe and didn’t feel confident traversing without it, so made the right decision not to attempt the traverse.

A person with an injured knee was also airlifted from Iris Burn on the Kepler Track.