INJURED WOMAN WINCHED IN DARK FROM TOP OF ICONIC LANDMARK (Copy)
July 19, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RACQ CQ Rescue has winched three people in just two years from the top of one of Mackay’s most famous landmarks.
Last night, the Mackay-based rescue helicopter winched a 49-year-old Eimeo woman from the top of The Leap, about 20km north-west of Mackay, after she broke her ankle descending the rugged, dangerous mountain track with a group from a running club.
Ironically, rescue crewman Arno Schoonwinkel was on board the helicopter when it was returning from conducting an aerial search for two people who were located safe and well after being reported missing in a four-wheel-drive at Captain’s Crossing, near Mia Mia, about 60km west of Mackay, yesterday.
Returning to base about 6pm, the rescue helicopter was redirected to another search for the injured woman, who suffered a seriously broken ankle in a fall at The Leap. Mr Schoonwinkel said he knew instinctively where the incident would have happened having completed two rescues in the same area in the last two years.
“This is the third winch from The Leap I’ve done since 2018 and I just knew exactly where the woman would have been on the track,” he said.
The iconic mountain is dominated by a rocky precipice and was several hundred metres high. Mr Schoonwinkel said yesterday’s incident was at the exact same place RACQ CQ Rescue had winched two patients previously; a local school teacher with a broken ankle in September 2018 and a first-time abseiler who was critically injured in a fall just a month later.
“After two previous rescues in that same area, it was the first place we looked and we found her straight away,” he said. “It’s a very treacherous part of the walking track, about 30 to 40 metres from the top near a cliff face where the rocks and soil are very loose and it can be very dangerous.”
Given the very rocky and steep terrain and that the hiker was on a cliff face close to the top of the mountain in the dark, ground recovery was not going to be feasible. Winching the injured walker off the mountain was the safest option, he said.
“Firstly, we had to wait for the Queensland Fire Service personnel and Queensland Ambulance Paramedic to reach her on foot so she could be transported in a stretcher back up to the top of the mountain so we could winch her safely from a clearing,” Mr Schoonwinkel said.
The rescue helicopter crew returned to base about 6.30pm and waited until 8.15pm when they were contacted that the injured woman and crews were in position for the winch.
The paramedic on the ground was also involved in assisting injured abseiler Jake Gibbons in October 2018, so his experience with a previous aeromedical retrieval in the same location was incredibly helpful. Sadly, Mr Gibbons sadly later died from his injuries sustained when he fell about 25-metres down the rock face.
Last night as the helicopter hovered about 20 metres overhead about 8.30pm, rescue crew officer (RCO) Mr Schoonwinkel was winched down to a rocky clearing on top of the landmark. Within 10 minutes, the injured woman was secured into an ARV (Air Rescue Vest) and winched up into the helicopter and flown to Mackay Base Hospital in a stable condition.
Unfortunately, the Queensland Fire Service crew and paramedic then had to walk back down the rugged and steep terrain in the cold and dark last night.
Mr Schoonwinkel described the 40-minute walk up to the top of The Leap as a “goat track”, but still very popular with locals and visitors.
“The view from the top is really amazing but it is very hard going, very steep and there’s a lot of loose dirt and rocks,” he said.
“It can be very dangerous, even for the fittest and most experienced hiker,” he said.
[ENDS]
Please credit any released photos and video footage to RACQ CQ Rescue.
Please note: Full title of rescue service is RACQ CQ Rescue.
For further information please contact:
Naomi Noy
RACQ CQ Rescue
Ph: 0417 578 182