A local woman who slipped and fell while trekking through Rarotonga’s “steep and gnarly mountain terrain” on ANZAC Day was rescued in a mission stretching from late afternoon into the night.

Volunteers from the Pukapuka community aided seven Police constables in carrying the 21-year-old trekker down the mountain.

Part of a trio of trekkers, one of the injured woman’s companions – also a member of Police’s Maritime division – sent out a distress call.

“The Search and Rescue (SAR) team was mobilised and reached the injured party shortly after 6pm. The retrieval was arduous, but the young woman was brought down safely and on the way to hospital shortly after 8.30pm,” Cook Islands Police Service spokesman Trevor Pitt said.

“This is hard work for any team, going up and back carrying a stretchered person. Weight, type of injury, and the terrain makes for slow-going – which can be helped by substituting. That’s if you have good numbers.”

Pitt said the woman had blacked out from the fall, but he did not have further details about her injuries.

A Police truck transported her to hospital where medical staff, including a doctor and nurse, were poised to tend to her injuries.

Those involved in the rescue had “faced a tough ANZAC Day test but performed an excellent job”, Pitt said.

“Thanks to the staff involved, and the Muia boys from Wale,” he said.

“Rarotonga’s steep and gnarly mountain terrain again posed difficult challenges.”

There have previously been calls to regulate use of the island’s mountain tracks, such as with a user pays system or by requiring a local mountain guide to accompany hikers.

The conversation was sparked by a string of rescues last year.

In November, a 55-year-old New Zealand visitor needed to be rescued despite being described as fairly fit and an experienced walker. A month earlier, a 60-year-old visitor needed to be rescued in a marathon 12-hour overnight effort.

In August, a pair of tourists were missing overnight after becoming disoriented on the mountain, walking out the next morning while the Police were engaged in several hours of searching.