A 13-year-old girl survived hours clinging to a cliff after her friend died, but police wrongly thought her dead and delayed a helicopter rescue for over an hour due to cost, later admitting the error.

A 13-year-old girl survived clinging to a Coromandel cliff for hours after her friend fell to his death, but police wrongly believed she was dead and denied a helicopter rescue, citing cost, delaying her extraction by over an hour. Fire and Emergency NZ criticized the decision, saying a helicopter could have cut response time significantly. The girl was eventually rescued by a ground team. Police later admitted the error, acknowledging they failed to properly assess the situation and should have asked better questions before denying air support.