Tourist's leg amputated in dramatic rescue
A 69-year-old Lithuanian tourist is fighting for his life after having his leg amputated in an attempt to save his life after he became stuck between rocks in a Tasmanian river.
The man, who has decades of experience in white water rafting, was kayaking on the Franklin River when he slipped on a rock and his leg became wedged underwater.
Emergency services were called to the scene and quickly ran out of options when trying to pull the man from the water.
After several failed attempts to free him, and because of fears his condition was deteriorating, the decision was made to amputate his leg above the knee.
The decision was made by medical professionals and in consultation with the man, allowing him to be winched to safety and airlifted to Royal Hobart Hospital.
Tasmania Police constable Callum Herbert said the rescue efforts was one some of the most intense scenarios he’s ever seen in the region.
“Most entrapments would be more simple than this,” constable Herbert said.
“This patient was so entrapped it’s involved an amputation of a limb. It’s pretty much the worst case scenario you could get aside from drowning. He’s fallen into the river in an awkward position."
Surf Life Saving Tasmania swift water rescue technician Ace Petrie praised the man and his crew for their efforts during the challenging rescue.
“His rafting crew had done a great job in securing him as best they could,” Mr Petrie said.
Mr Petrie said the efforts to free the man were arduous, with rescuers even attempting to use the jaws of life equipment underwater.
"After we assessed his entrapment, we started off with the basic scenarios using ropes and pulleys. We weren’t budging these rocks at all, this went on for approximately 10-12 hours,” he said.
“We had to get that equipment into the water, it was quite fast flowing which made it difficult to get it stable at that time. Everyone wanted this guy out. We weren’t giving up.”
Mr Petrie added that another issue they faced was that the trapped man spoke limited English, saying, “He had a little bit of broken english, like when we were trying to pull his leg out he could say ‘My leg’s broken’ or 'broken leg; but a part from that we couldn’t take his mind off the situation by talking to him about his family or the trips he’d done. That was really hard.”
Ambulance Tasmania intensive care flight paramedic Mitch Parkinson said the man’s outlook on the entire situation was remarkable and he remained “exceptionally strong and robust” throughout the ordeal.
“He maintained an exceptionally resilient persona through the night and he tired through the morning. This was an exceptionally long mission.”
Image credits: Tasmania Police