Young man wearing camouflage gear is airlifted to hospital after accidentally shooting himself in the leg while on a hunting trip with friends
- Young hunter has been injured after accidentally shooting himself in the leg
- The man in his 20s was airlifted to a nearby hospital in a serious condition
- His friends called for help and applied a makeshift tourniquet while waiting
A young man has accidentally shot himself in the leg on a hunting trip with friends through New Zealand bushland.
The man, in his 20s, was hunting pigs in Mangatawhiri, about 60km south of Auckland, when he shot himself on Sunday afternoon.
Friends used a makeshift tourniquet to stem the man’s bleeding until a rescue helicopter arrived to take him to hospital in a serious condition.
A man in his 20s is in a serious condition after accidentally shooting himself in the leg on a hunting trip through New Zealand bushland (pictured)
An Auckland hospital helicopter and police air support helicopter flew out to assist the man shortly after 2pm after his friends called for help.
The rescue team ran into trouble when the terrain proved unsuitable for the rescue helicopter to land on.
The hill was too steep for the helicopter to land and thick bush restricted their direct access, a spokesman for the rescue helicopter said.
In the end, intensive care paramedic Marcel Driessen and Dr Nick Longley were dropped into a nearby paddock.
They attended to the young man, stabilising his wounds and eventually winched him up into the helicopter and flown to Middlemore Hospital in Auckland.
Rough terrain and thick bushlands made it difficult for the rescue teams (pictured) to reach the young man
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