BARWON RIVER RESCUE DRAMA
A MAN was winched to safety in a lengthy and “complex” rescue after he slipped down an embankment at Fyansford on Friday.
Emergency workers spent close to three hours devising a plan, and trying to rescue the man, before he was eventually brought to safety.
The man, in his 20s, fractured his leg after he slipped while walking along Upper Paper Mills Rd about 8am.
Country Fire Authority Geelong West Captain Paul Cockerill said the embankment, next to the Barwon River, was difficult to access.
“The area itself was right behind some buildings and below it was the river – there wasn’t much track and there were a lot of bluestone edges,” he said.
The man needed to be carefully stretchered out due to his injuries.
He was in a stable condition.
“We ended up using the air ambulance, which was able to winch him up into the helicopter,” Mr Cockerill said.
He said it took ambulance crews about two attempts to connect equipment to the man before he was able to be safely taken up into the helicopter and flown to the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
“Paramedics have accessed the man and are supporting him,” an Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman said.
“He is conscious and reportedly in good spirits under the circumstances.
Mr Cockerill said if the winch had not been successful, the incident management team would have called on the Fire Rescue Victoria high-angle rescue team. He said he was proud of the work of emergency services.
“Initially, there were difficulty from the paramedics with the winch … but everyone worked very well together in a very complex scene.”