If the planned closure of two central North Island rescue helicopter bases had already happened, a rescue pilot believes one man would already be dead.
Greenlea rescue pilot Nat Every says the successful mission to save a man from the Urewera Ranges on Friday simply wouldn't have been possible.
When Mr Every found the man, he was suffering from severe hypothermia and was in the foetal position.
"He was ready to die - he was thanking us over and over again," he said.
"He looked down to the south of Lake Taupo and said how wonderful Mt Cook was looking, [so it had] got to the point where he was possibly so cold he was operating in the wrong island of the country."
Mr Every says that at the time of Friday's rescue, every Greenlea helicopter in the North Island, from Palmerston North to Hamilton, was busy.
The Taupo Greenlea Rescue Helicopter that Mr Every operates was dispatched to the Urewera Ranges. The man, aged in his 50s or 60s, was found just 20 metres from a hut where he could have taken shelter.
The Ministry of Health plans to cut the Taupo and Rotorua helicopter bases in November as part of its new air ambulance service model.
Mr Every says if Friday's rescue had happened under the new planned model, the amount of extra time it would've taken to get there could have been fatal.
The Ministry of Health says the new model will cover all of New Zealand, and strengthen coordination and improve the placement of helicopters and will also be safer and better resourced.
"At the end of the day, people are going to end up perishing," Mr Every said.
A decision is expected to be made on the rescue helicopters in August.
Newshub.
