Helicopter Rescues in Tasmania "2"

[Overlandman]

Updates coming in

Thoughts are with the rescue team, family and friends

Sadly
From the Advocate

A body believed to be that of a missing walker has been discovered at Frenchmans Cap in the state's West.
Searchers from Ambulance Tasmania and the State Emergency Service Search and Rescue Team located the body of a deceased man off the summit track this afternoon.
It appears the 28-year-old from Hobart had fallen and died as a result of his injuries.

[Lostsoul]

From Tas Police Facebook page

Police, with the assistance of Ambulance Tasmania and the State Emergency Service Search and Rescue Team (Northwest) are searching for a missing walker at Frenchmans Cap.

The 28 year old man from Hobart was last seen at 07:30am on Wednesday 28 May starting the final mountain ascent.

He told other walkers that he intended to walk to the summit and return to Lake Vera that day.

He did not return to his camping site, and the walkers reported their concerns to police on 31 May.

Last night a search and rescue team walked into the area, and is this morning walking up the mountain. The Westpac Rescue Helicopter will assist in the search.

Acting Sergeant Stephen Barrow said “We are very concerned for the safety of the missing walker, and are hoping that he is quickly found. I pass on my thanks to the walkers who reported this to Police and assisted with valuable information.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 131 444.

I find it mind boggling that the walkers waited 2 days to report the guy missing,knowing he hadn’t returned to his camp that night.Would have thought a plb should have been used to raise the alarm earlier.In this case it probably wouldn’t have helped the poor guy but still,geez!

[creeping_moses]

I find it mind boggling that the walkers waited 2 days to report the guy missing, knowing he hadn’t returned to his camp that night.

Agree
Albeit I can conceive situations where one would not know what was happening to others out there. It sounds like this fellow was walking from Lake Vera hut to the FC summit return in a long day on the 28th.
Any other people at Vera that morning/night prior who he informed of his intentions may have been walking out on the 28th. The alarm may be delayed due to people not realising he was due back to his tent at an otherwise empty - winter and mid-week - Vera hut or a Vera hut occupied only by incoming walkers who he hadn't met and who didn't realise his tent was there and empty. People he may have passed between Vera and Tahune, or even Tahune and the summit, if any, also may not have had the required second piece of data (i.e. not seeing him pass back through Tahune Hut later in the day) to have concerns. The alarm may have only been raised on review of the trail head log book by a walker who saw the empty tent and/or had heard chat from other parties.

[Tazz81]

Don’t blame the walkers who set off the alarm after 2 days. He took the risk of climbing Frenchmans solo in winter - that quartz is lethal with a bit of ice. The new iPhones have a man down function connected to satellite so maybe that would of helped.

[north-north-west]

Frenchmans solo in winter is fine if you know what you're doing. It's a big ask to do it at that time as a daywalk from Vera, however.
There aren't that many places you can fall from on the summit track, and anyone going in after him would have seen the body if he'd been near it, so I'm guessing he was offline when he fell. May not have mattered when the alarm was raised.

[stu]

I read it as he was going to summit & 'return' to Vera, ie. he was camped at Tahune, summit, pack up & back to Vera that night. I wonder where he fell, & if any other walkers in the area summited in the intervening days...there's not many places to fall & be obscured

[north-north-west]

...there's not many places to fall & be obscured

That's the thing. There's only one bit of the summit track that poses a problem, even in winter, and if you slip there you're going to be seen by the next person through. If he fell on the Wednesday or Thursday, weather would not have been an issue - I could see it from where I was walking and the thing was brightly sunlit.

[phATty]

Where abouts can you fall? I don't recall any places on Frenchmans where you could but it has been awhile...
Is it possible they were going the wrong way?

[north-north-west]

Where abouts can you fall? I don't recall any places on Frenchmans where you could but it has been awhile...
Is it possible they were going the wrong way?

There's one minor scramble up a steep bit of rock. Some people have trouble with it and it can be particularly awkward with ice or in the wet. But it's short and you'd have to be unlucky to cop a major injury even if you slipped at the top.
Pretty sure someone's posted an image of it here (maybe Tortoise?) but it would take some diggiing to find.

[Son of a Beach]

There’s a sign pointing left to Tahune, right to Irenabyss and UP to summit.

PS. Found it: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12414&p=164368&hilit=Frenchmans+cap#p164368

[eggs]

There are a couple other places possible.
The sloping rock slab under an overhang can be tricky - I thought worse than the rock face.
You don't have to fall far some times.
But he may have gone slightly off track to the huge crevice on the eastern edge - near where people have gone base jumping.
Would be interesting to find out where.

[north-north-west]

There’s a sign pointing left to Tahune, right to Irenabyss and UP to summit.

PS. Found it: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12414&p=164368&hilit=Frenchmans+cap#p164368

That's it. A Few shots of the section in question on that thread. Well done.

[tastrax]

Sky news are as accurate as ever!

[headwerkn]

Sky news are as accurate as ever!

Murdoch press... facts and reality... yeah.... :-/

On the plus side, some conservative boomers in Zeehan are probably feeling very "seen" right now

[Overlandman]

Not sure if the helicopter will be involved due to weather but a rescue is being organised.

Police and emergency services are responding to a personal locator beacon activation in the Walls of Jerusalem National Park.

The beacon is being used by a party of three, comprising two adults and one child.

Contact has been made with the group and while conditions aren’t suitable for the Westpac Rescue Helicopter to fly, ground search parties are being organised.

Further updates will be provided as they become available.



***Update @6am***

The missing walkers that were reported overdue in the Walls of Jerusalem area have been successfully located overnight.

Eight members attached to Police Search and Rescue, Tasmania SES and Ambulance Tasmania paramedics walked into the area and located them. They were cold but well.

Due to the inclement weather conditions they have stayed with the walkers over night providing them with food and provisions to keep warm.

Attempts will be made to retrieve them by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Tasmania this morning depending on the weather.

------

Great outcome so far

[Overlandman]

Update

An operation to retrieve three stranded bushwalkers from the Walls of Jerusalem National Park in Tasmania’s Central Highlands is ongoing.

The group, including two adults and a child, activated a personal locator beacon (PLB) shortly before 4:30pm on Sunday.

Authorities were notified that the trio had become lost in snow near Cathedral Mountain, and the child was believed to be suffering from hypothermia.

The inclement weather conditions meant the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Tasmania was not able to fly, and a ground crew was organised instead.

A group of eight police, SES and Ambulance Tasmania personnel walked into the area last night, reaching the bushwalkers about half past two this morning.

Thankfully with the provision of food and warmth, the child’s condition improved overnight.

Challenging weather conditions meant the helicopter was still not able to fly into the area today, and walking out was not advisable given the challenges posed by the weather.

More provisions are being delivered to the group this evening, with further trained search and rescue personnel walking in.

The situation will be reassessed tomorrow.

[headwerkn]

The family have now been extracted thankfully. Amazing effort by SAR, TasPol, Ambulance Tas and everyone else involved.

As an aside, does anyone know the registrations for the new CareFlight units? POL71/72 are still active it seems, POL73/74 have gone elsewhere now AFAIK.

[Overlandman]

From ABC

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-16/ ... /104102006

Family rescued from Tasmania's Walls Of Jerusalem National Park after child develops hypothermia

VH-RSQ is Polair 71
VH-EMS is Polair 72
VH-ATZ is used for Training / Fire

[matagi]

Seems a bit ambitious doing a day walk to Twin Spires at this time of year.

[lefroy]

With a 9 year old in tow it's a pretty ambitious day walk at any time of the year.

[north-north-west]

Given the weather on Sunday, "ambitious" is a mild term.

[matagi]

Given the weather on Sunday, "ambitious" is a mild term.

I was trying to be diplomatic.

[Overlandman]

Not good

From ABC

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-17/ ... /104098414

Canberran receives $45,000 ambulance bill from Tasmanian government after rolling her ankle on hiking trip

[north-north-west]

Not good

From ABC

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-17/ ... /104098414

Canberran receives $45,000 ambulance bill from Tasmanian government after rolling her ankle on hiking trip

Check before you leave home. Don't just assume you're automatically covered.

[bumpingbill]

Though luckily for her in this case, she was covered - by private health insurance.

[Overlandman]

Additional Ambulance Information from ABC

In this day and age you would think it shouldn’t be complicated

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-19/ ... /104114124

What to know about using ambulance services interstate when you're travelling Australia

[MrWalker]

I'm really concerned that people will read about the $45,000 bill and the confusing arrangements between states, and they'll decide to hobble out or get carried by friends rather than call for help. So a minor injury becomes major by the time they get out.

Or they'll try to find their own way out if they are lost, and get further off track. Then we have dozens of searchers risking their lives because they didn't call for help soon enough.

[headwerkn]

^ This.

Every emergency service organisation is at pains to explain that no one will be refused service, criticised for their decision (by anyone who's opinion matters... Facebook peanut gallery doesn't count) to 'hit the button' or be bankrupted by a massive bill for this exact reason. Unfortunately stories like this aren't at all helpful - the kinda crap you expect in the USA or far-off third world countries.

Ambulance reciprocal arrangements between the states are a bit confusing, and I suspect the only reason the Tas Government billed an ACT resident for the bill was because they knew they had private cover for it. That said I am proud to be a Tasmanian resident

Any member of Air Rescue, SAR, et. al. will look you straight in the eye and say it is way better to seek help days too early, than five minutes too late. The "R" stands for rescue, not retrieval, ideally...

Also: too many stories of people walking on injuries until they've done permanent damage to themselves. By all means, be responsible, self triage and use the resources you have at your disposal first to get yourself safe if you can. Give consideration of calling in a helicopter because you've freaked out about getting a leech on you, or that flooded creek is going to make you miss your flight because you didn't allow enough extra time in your schedule for weather. But if you need help, get help.

[doogs]

For interest, here are the reciprocal agreements in place for Tasmanian residents:
https://www.health.tas.gov.au/hospitals ... e-tasmania

[phATty]

Also: too many stories of people walking on injuries until they've done permanent damage to themselves. By all means, be responsible, self triage and use the resources you have at your disposal first to get yourself safe if you can. Give consideration of calling in a helicopter because you've freaked out about getting a leech on you, or that flooded creek is going to make you miss your flight because you didn't allow enough extra time in your schedule for weather. But if you need help, get help.

There definitely needs to be more advertising/publicity in respect to when a helicopter rescue is suitable or not.
Mind you, I don't think anyone flips the PLB thinking that they're not in a medical emergency, it's all relative.