A woman in her 40s and two children were injured when a quad bike slipped about 50m down a muddy bank near Auckland this morning.

Four people in total were taken to hospital after a serious incident on a slip-ridden rural road near Leigh.

Emergency services rushed to the scene, on Ashton Rd in Whangateau, around 8.50am.

An Ashton Rd resident told the Herald she could see a helicopter, three ambulances, at least two police cars, and three to four fire trucks at the sight of the crash.

The crash scene, captured from the air by the rescue helicopter crew. Photo / Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust

The top part of the street had been blocked off because of the slips so the neighbours had been using quad bikes to go up and down the road while repair work was being carried out, she said.

She said she was not sure what had happened today but someone was definitely hurt and “there were access problems to get to the person injured”.

“It is a bit of a worry.”

The Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter was tasked to the remote to assist a female patient in her 40′s and two children suffering “a fall of 50 metres on a quad bike down a muddy bank”.

“The woman needed to be extracted by winch from a height of around 200ft,” said a spokesperson.

“She was flown to Auckland City Hospital in a serious condition.

“The children were in moderate and minor conditions.”

A Hato Hone St John spokesperson said they were notified of the quad bike incident at 8.51am.

Images of the woman being rescued were captured by the rescue helicopter crew. Photo / Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust

They responded with one helicopter, three ambulances, two rapid response units and one manager.

“We have assessed and treated four patients; one in a critical condition was airlifted to Auckland hospital and three in a moderate condition were transported to Auckland hospital via road.”

Police received a report of the crash, involving a single vehicle, at 8.48am.

“It appears a quad bike has left the road. Emergency services are in attendance, initial indications are that there have been injuries,” a police spokesperson said.

Two fire engines and two support vehicles were also attending the scene, a FENZ spokesperson said.