It was an amazing sight to see – two red and yellow helicopters flying through a clear Auckland sky, landing side by side on Queens Wharf. A two year mission to add a new rescue helicopter was accomplished last Thursday. The Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust has added a fully refurbished BK117 helicopter to its fleet.

Trust chief executive Bob Parkinson says the helicopter’s unveiling made a “very exciting day”. “We’ve been working towards this seriously for the last two years,” The new addition means the trust has doubled its fleet of Westpac rescue helicopters.

“We can only do it through the generosity and support of our sponsors,” Mr Parkinson says. Last year the rescue helicopter flew 577 missions – a 13 percent increase from 2008 from 2008 rescues. This year the trust has already seen a 15 percent increase on that figure.

Mr Parkinson says demand for hospital work, search and rescue and medical work has risen dramatically in the past two years. “We have to meet these growing demands, and fortunately our appeal for funding has resonated strongly with the public and corporate of the greater Auckland region.”

Paramedic Russell Clarke says the rescue crew is often needed at two places in the greater Auckland area at the same time. “It gives us the ability to respond to more than one job at a time. It’s really great for the greater Auckland region.

The helicopters will be providing more services to hospitals – in particular by transferring sick children to and from Starship hospital. The new helicopter costs about $5 million and has been purpose built to the same specifications for emergency medical services as the current one.