Helicopter Rescues in Tasmania "2"

[Overlandman]

There was a rescue last week that Robert H posted on the 12th on the Snake Bite forum

The highly skilled crew of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter yesterday airlifted a 33-year-old woman from the Port Davey Track in the Southwest National Park after she sustained a snake bite. She was airlifted to Hobart in a stable condition.


South Coast Track Rescue today

http://www.examiner.com.au/story/517173 ... ack/?cs=95


A bushwalker was rescued after falling on the South Coast Track.

The 56-year-old South Australian woman hurt her leg and shoulder while walking with two other people on the southern Tasmanian track on Tuesday afternoon.

After the woman activated her personal location beacon about 1pm, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority contacted Tasmania Police and the Westpac Rescue Helicopter was sent to the area.

[Nuts]

A busy time for the rescue crews:

Including yesterday:

At 12:30pm, a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) activation was detected at the Leven River. A man and a woman aged in their 60s from South Australia were winched from the area after the woman suffered a shoulder injury. The woman was flown to the North West Regional Hospital.

At 4:30pm, while on route to the North West Regional Hospital in Burnie, the helicopter then conducted a medivac of a 37-year-old man bitten by a tiger snake in Strahan. He was transported to the Royal Hobart Hospital in a stable condition.

Also at 4:30pm, another PLB activated was detected near Waratah. The second Westpac Rescue Helicopter was activated from Hobart to rescue an adult and three children lost near Philosopher Falls. They were located and winched from the dense forest.

At 6:50pm, two women aged in their 30s from Derby activated an emergency device from the Crossing River in southwest Tasmania. The women were on an expedition which involved pack rafting the Crossing River into the Davey River to their destination Melaleuca. The women became trapped in a gorge and one of them suffered an ankle injury. They were rescued from the gorge in a high-winch operation and returned to Hobart.

Following the busy day, at 7:30am this morning a PLB activation was detected in the Frankland Range in Southwest Tasmania. The Westpac Rescue Helicopter was activated to the scene where two men in their 20s were located near the Citadel. One of the men had suffered an ankle injury and was unable to continue. The men were flown to Hobart with the injured man transported to the Royal Hobart Hospital.

[Lophophaps]

Is four rescues in one day, all in the afternoon and evening, a record?

[ofuros]

Plb's to the rescue ! Becoming more mainstream in bushwalking circles every year.
Nice job heli crews...

[Overlandman]

Is four rescues in one day, all in the afternoon and evening, a record?

Interesting question.
It would take me a while to go through 320 replies for Helicopter Rescues in Tasmania
And the 362 replies for Helicopter Rescues in Tasmania 2.
(It would be nice if they could be added together locked by tasadam 15th of August 2015)

[bushwalker zane]

Yep!The Frankland Range one was me.

Busted an ankle yesterday. I had no improvement, so we pushed the button and got plucked out from Citadel Shelf Camp this morning. Weird to carry a PLB for so many years, and actually having to use it.

Thanks to the police and chopper crew for their fantastic work! Donate!

[stepbystep]

Yep!The Frankland Range one was me.

Busted an ankle yesterday. I had no improvement, so we pushed the button and got plucked out from Citadel Shelf Camp this morning. Weird to carry a PLB for so many years, and actually having to use it.

Thanks to the police and chopper crew for their fantastic work! Donate!

Thought it would be you(or your mate) what happened?

[Tortoise]

Yep!The Frankland Range one was me.Busted an ankle yesterday. I had no improvement, so we pushed the button and got plucked out from Citadel Shelf Camp this morning.

Bummer!! Sorry to hear about your injury, Zane. All the best for a quick and excellent recovery.

[norts]

Well that will slow down those Abels.
When I saw that there was a 20yr old rescued on the Franklands I wondered if it was you Zane as i knew you were in that part of the country.
Hope you heal properly and quickly

Norts/Taz

[bushwalker zane]

Thought it would be you(or your mate) what happened?

Yeah, not many people on the range at the moment, I think. I know a few heading up soon, though.
I sprained my ankle pretty badly. We splinted it (treating it as if it was broken, just in case) rested it up over night, but by the next yesterday morning it was pretty swollen and real painful to move. There's no way I'll be able to carry a pack for a good bunch of weeks now, let alone continue on the Franks. It was really beautiful. I'm super disappointed

Bummer!! Sorry to hear about your injury, Zane. All the best for a quick and excellent recovery.

Thanks! Fingers crossed I can get out and about again soon

Well that will slow down those Abels.
When I saw that there was a 20yr old rescued on the Franklands I wondered if it was you Zane as i knew you were in that part of the country.
Hope you heal properly and quickly
Norts/Taz

Yeah, a lot of people made the guess it was us. I don't think I've ever had that many phone calls in one day! Hopefully it'll be right soon.

[Nuts]

ouch!



(olm?) Noticed the site upgrade, new graphics overview and 'stories' being updated (kind of).

https://www.westpacrescuetas.com.au/rescues

Screen Shot 2018-01-20 at 11.15.05 am.png (680.95 KiB) Viewed 34802 times

[north-north-west]

Thought it would be you(or your mate) what happened?

I sprained my ankle pretty badly. We splinted it (treating it as if it was broken, just in case) rested it up over night, but by the next yesterday morning it was pretty swollen and real painful to move. There's no way I'll be able to carry a pack for a good bunch of weeks now, let alone continue on the Franks. It was really beautiful. I'm super disappointed

I've heard that a bad ankle sprain takes longer to heal than a simple fracture.
Bummer way to end the adventure, but the flight out must have been superb, despite the weather. Or was it a bit nicer up there than near the eastern end of the range?

[bushwalker zane]

I've heard that a bad ankle sprain takes longer to heal than a simple fracture.
Bummer way to end the adventure, but the flight out must have been superb, despite the weather. Or was it a bit nicer up there than near the eastern end of the range?

I've also heard that, but after going to my GP today and having him have a good look at it, it seems like it should only be a few weeks before I can get around on it and exercise it. Apparently the thought for treating sprains has changed; it used to be immobilise and compress, now it's believed the more movement the ligaments get, faster they'll strengthen and heal. Obviously doing sensible exercises that won't re-damage the foot. So I'm excited about that!

And yes. The flight was great! First time in a chopper, and it was amazing. Leaving the range was a bit cloudy, but by the time we were out over Pedder it was clear. Flew right over the North-East ridge of Mt Anne.... That. Was. COOL!

[Overlandman]

From today’s Vigilante News Facebook page

The Tasmania Police Westpac Police Rescue Helicopter has been activated to assist an injured walker on Mount Wellington who has a suspected fractured leg.

Regards OLM

[Overlandman]

From Tasmanian Police Facebook

The highly skilled crew of the Westpac Rescue Helicopter, including members of Tasmania Police, rescued a lady with a broken ankle from the Three Capes Track earlier today.

Regards OLM

[Mountain Rocket]

Another one from yesterday also from the Tas Police Facebook.

"The crew retrieved a NSW man from New River Lagoon after he experienced difficulty while bushwalking."

[Nuts]

"The crew retrieved a NSW man from New River Lagoon after he experienced difficulty while bushwalking."
I hear there's some difficult country in them parts?

News of a 12yo boy rescued from Cradle Mt. (edit: minor injuries) (maybe worth them:)

Screen Shot 2018-04-03 at 4.59.27 pm.png (227.18 KiB) Viewed 33445 times

[Mountain Rocket]

I guess so, seems they picked up another "bushwalker suffering a medical condition from the South Coast early this morning."
From the short video it looks like Granite Beach, but could be wrong.

[Overlandman]

An update from the Examiner
Regards OLM

http://www.examiner.com.au/story/532479 ... ter/?cs=95

[Overlandman]

From Tas Police Facebook

While many of us were rugged up in our warm beds early this morning, the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Tasmania crew, including members of Tasmania Police and Ambulance Tasmania, rescued an injured Queensland woman who slipped on the snowy Overland Track at Cradle Cirque.
The woman was treated at the scene for minor injuries and transported to the Royal Hobart Hospital in a stable condition.

[Mountain Rocket]

Thankfully a happy ending to this search.
'A man missing in remote bush on Tasmania's west coast has been found safe and well by search and rescue crews.'
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-19/m ... st/9674390

[cajun]

From Tas Police Facebook

While many of us were rugged up in our warm beds early this morning, the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Tasmania crew, including members of Tasmania Police and Ambulance Tasmania, rescued an injured Queensland woman who slipped on the snowy Overland Track at Cradle Cirque.
The woman was treated at the scene for minor injuries and transported to the Royal Hobart Hospital in a stable condition.

The lady had a fall earlier in the day and hurt her hip. Later she slipped and broke her ankle about half way between the emergency shelter and Barn Bluff hut. The conditions that day were trying to say the least. A long, very cold night in blizzard conditions on the lee side of the cirque ensued as neither the emergency shelter or the hut could be reached. I guess the injuries were minor, but I'm sure the experience wasn't. A huge effort from a well prepared guide and some further help from 2 others who hiked in late with sleeping bags etc (who when they hiked back to the Emergency shelter found a tent erected inside, housing people who had been inside for 2 days!!!), ensured that the injured lady made it to the next morning for the Westpac Helicopter boys to arrive. Great effort by the guides.

All's well that ends well, but a real lesson in how the weather on the OLT can be unexpected, and being prepared is so important.

[Nuts]

Ouch, broken ankle is not 'minor'.. I'm sure there's more than one lesson to be learned, and not just for walkers.. So, in bad weather there's a party holed up in the emergency shelter and even that was too far? What's the story with bringing sleeping bags in? did they not have any? Did the party manage to pitch a tent? (there's not a lot of flat ground off the cirque.. other than a couple of less steep shelves, back around towards the emergency shelter side. and a good site part way down on the same/ more easterly side)

[north-north-west]

... in bad weather there's a party holed up in the emergency shelter and even that was too far?

As you said, a broken ankle is not a minor injury.
When I busted mine it was all I could do to hop a couple of hundred metres to the car (once I'd been hauled out of the chimney). You can't put any weight on an injury like that, and on the steepish steps between the cirque and Waterfall Valley, even with assistance in good conditions it would be very, very difficult terrain to negotiate.

[Warin]

As you said, a broken ankle is not a minor injury.
When I busted mine it was all I could do to hop a couple of hundred metres to the car

I broke a collar bone .. and an ankle at the same time. The collar bone was more painful, I only realised the ankle was broken later when it went to a strange angle and then swelled up the next day ... yes I was walking on it but not carrying any weight.

So it is possible to walk on a broken ankle and possibly some broken leg bone... if just depends on the injury... and how much pain you are prepared to tolerate.In my case I had a significant pain in another area that masked any ankle pain.

[north-north-west]

Yeah, mine didn't start to hurt for a couple of hours. I really thought I'd just sprained it. Wasn't until I had a good look at the very localised but quite substantial swelling that we realised it was more serious than that. As you say, depends on the nature of the fracture, but on that section of track?

[cajun]

Some clarifications - it was very icy / windy and snowing with wind gusts to 100km/h and wind chill to -12. Fortunately it wasn't constant with some small windows of respite during the night, but not long enough to get a chopper there. We were walking with TWC guides, who were well prepared. The rest of the group made it to the hut with our second guide while the senior and very experienced guide stayed with the injured lady and her husband. Undoubtedly there are lessons to be learnt. The lady in question has recovered well.

[Nuts]

hmmm, yeah.. ok, thanks cajun. Rare insight.

I'll introduce the thought bubble of a stretcher in the existing emergency shelter (over yet another shelter) hopefully leave it at that.

[Mountain Rocket]

From Tas Police facebook:

The Westpac Rescue Helicopter, together with members of Tasmania Police, SES and Ambulance, rescued a walker with a suspected broken ankle from Mt Killiecrankie yesterday.

[Overlandman]

From the Examiner

The Westpac Rescue Helicopter is responding to a call for help on the Port Davey Track in Tasmania’s southwest.

An Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon registered to two adults was activated on Thursday morning.

(Think maybe it’s a PLB)
Hope for a good outcome
Regards OLM