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- Man's leg amputated in 20-hour effort to free him from rocks in Tasmania's Franklin River
Man's leg amputated in 20-hour effort to free him from rocks in Tasmania's Franklin River
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A kayaker's leg was amputated during a 20-hour rescue operation in Tasmania, Australia, after he became trapped in rocks on a river. The international visitor, in his 60s, was pack rafting along the Franklin River when he fell into a rock crevice, partially submerging him in water. Multiple attempts to extract him prior to the amputation were unsuccessful, and he was eventually flown to a hospital in Hobart, where he is in critical condition. The rescue operation was triggered by an emergency alert received from the man's smartwatch.
I'd like to thank everyone who contributed to this operation in the most difficult of circumstances.
He was scouting the area and he slipped and fell into that rock crevice.
This was a life and death situation and the decision was made in consultation with the patient to amputate his leg to be able to remove him from the rock crevice.
He is described as being in a critical condition but it is quite clear from the medical advice that had he remained in the location where he was, and trapped in the rock crevice he would not have survived.
This rescue was an extremely challenging and technical operation.
The beauty of Tasmania's wilderness is what attracts people to this state but that wilderness is also some of the most challenging and rugged terrain in the world.
The scene was an incredibly challenging location in the remote and austere environment of the south-west of Tasmania on the Franklin River.
Not only were they in the elements throughout the night with limited communications, but they were in a precarious location with lots of hazards and risks around them.
sources
- 1.CNN
- 2.BBC
- 3.The New York Times
- 4.The Guardian
- 5.ABC News
- 6.Australian Associated Press
- 7.Guardian
- 8.Times
perspectives
- 1.Kayaking