A daring rescue has had a happy ending after a boy found himself dangling off the side of a chairlift at Mt Hutt ski field on Saturday.
The boy, aged about 10, got on the lift with his parents but forgot to lower the safety bar.
The boy suddenly leaned forward and slipped, leaving his anxious parents hanging on to him by his wrists.
"He was probably hanging anywhere between about seven and 10 metres from the ground," says Mt Hutt operations general manager James Urquhart.
"I had two patrollers pretty much there when it happened - they were right there. They just quickly ran up the hill, grabbed one of the safety pads, brought it down, used it as a fireman's trampoline sort-of rescue net."
Mr Urquhart says he was only a "little fellow", but he's a "tough little cookie".
"He put his skis back on and got back into the queue. We couldn't catch up with him… His parents carried on going up the chairlift. I think he was pretty keen to try and catch up."
He's not sure who the family are, and isn't sure yet whether an investigation will be launched.
"It's one of those days where you just scratch your head and go, did I really just see that?"
The father, Kevin Clulee, later posted on Facebook: "Jack hanging out at Mt Hutt. He all good."
Members of the family said Jack would have a great story to tell at school on Monday.
Newshub.
