A student rescued from the bush in Hawke's Bay is understood to have suffered a head knock in a fall, and had told his rescuers he had been unconscious for some time.
The teenager, who attends Taradale High School, was rescued on Wednesday after getting separated from his school group while hiking to Sunrise Hut in the Ruahine Forest Park.
Police began a search and rescue operation on Tuesday night.
The crew of a Defence Force NH90 helicopter had been in the area for mountain flying training when they were asked to assist with the search for the teen, who had been missing for more than 18 hours.
After searching near Sunrise Hut, the helicopter crew turned their attention to the tracks in that area, as well as Top Maropea Hut.
After that the helicopter flew to the Waipawa River Valley, where the teen was found. As he saw the helicopter, he reportedly shouted "help me, help me".
The Defence Force said the NH90 crew winched the student into the helicopter and flew him to safety, where he was met by police and reunited with family.
The boy's father told Hawke's Bay Today the family wanted to give a "huge thank you" to all those involved in bringing his son out safely.
Police Inspector Caroline Martin said it was a "great result" to find the teen, and on Wednesday afternoon the school emailed parents with the good news.
"We are thrilled to let you know that our student was located by the search and rescue helicopter and is now with his parents.
"We want to say a huge thank you to the police, Land Search and Rescue personnel, our staff and everyone else involved in the search," the email said.
Following the rescue, the helicopter crew then extracted ground search volunteers who had "spent a long night searching for the teenager", the Defence Force said.
