Senior medic recognised for rescuing more than 70 people
Aug 10, 2024 9:45:56 GMT 12
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Post by Dave Homewood on Aug 10, 2024 9:45:56 GMT 12
Senior medic recognised for rescuing more than 70 people from Hawke’s Bay flood waters
Hawkes Bay Today
10 Aug, 2024 06:00 AM
A senior medic from the Royal New Zealand Air Force has been recognised for her rescue efforts winching people by helicopter to safety during Cyclone Gabrielle.
Corporal Tessa Black, was awarded a Defence Meritorious Service Medals (DMSM) for her work on board the first NH90 helicopter sent to survey the cyclone’s impact on her home province of Hawke’s Bay.
This quickly became a rescue mission for stranded members of the public who were threatened by rapidly rising flood waters.
On the first day, Black winched eight people and their dogs to safety and over the following days was involved in the rescues of a further 70 victims caught in the flood waters, silt and slash.
“I think we were so busy trying to rescue everybody I didn’t think about being scared,” Black said.
Tessa Black helped to rescue more than 70 people and dogs during Cyclone Gabrielle.
“We train quite a lot with winching and moving around the aircraft and that training is so valuable - when something happens it’s just second nature.”
The rest of 2023 had Black on call for 138 days, where she participated in 80% of NZDF responses to emergency requests for assistance.
These included rescuing a hunter with a broken femur, a tramper with a dislocated shoulder and a medical evacuation from Antarctica.
www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/senior-medic-awarded-for-rescuing-more-than-70-people-from-hawkes-bay-flood-waters/VJMJIIEJJNH2JLCZILOVPJZI6Q/
Hawkes Bay Today
10 Aug, 2024 06:00 AM
A senior medic from the Royal New Zealand Air Force has been recognised for her rescue efforts winching people by helicopter to safety during Cyclone Gabrielle.
Corporal Tessa Black, was awarded a Defence Meritorious Service Medals (DMSM) for her work on board the first NH90 helicopter sent to survey the cyclone’s impact on her home province of Hawke’s Bay.
This quickly became a rescue mission for stranded members of the public who were threatened by rapidly rising flood waters.
On the first day, Black winched eight people and their dogs to safety and over the following days was involved in the rescues of a further 70 victims caught in the flood waters, silt and slash.
“I think we were so busy trying to rescue everybody I didn’t think about being scared,” Black said.
Tessa Black helped to rescue more than 70 people and dogs during Cyclone Gabrielle.
“We train quite a lot with winching and moving around the aircraft and that training is so valuable - when something happens it’s just second nature.”
The rest of 2023 had Black on call for 138 days, where she participated in 80% of NZDF responses to emergency requests for assistance.
These included rescuing a hunter with a broken femur, a tramper with a dislocated shoulder and a medical evacuation from Antarctica.
www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/senior-medic-awarded-for-rescuing-more-than-70-people-from-hawkes-bay-flood-waters/VJMJIIEJJNH2JLCZILOVPJZI6Q/
