CHOPPER CLOCKS UP EIGHT MISSIONS ACROSS REGION SINCE FRIDAY
July 10, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CHOPPER CLOCKS UP EIGHT MISSIONS ACROSS REGION SINCE FRIDAY
RACQ CQ Rescue airlifted a man with spinal injuries to hospital after a high-speed waterskiing accident at Kinchant Dam yesterday.
It was one of eight missions and 2500km flown since Friday and one of four missions completed in just 24 hours on Sunday.
The Mackay-based rescue helicopter was tasked by Queensland Health about 3.30pm yesterday that a 46-year-old Eimeo man had suffered serious injuries after falling while skiing at the dam, about 35km west of Mackay.
RACQ CQ Rescue, with a doctor and Critical Care Paramedic on board, arrived on scene within 10 minutes of departure from Mackay Airport and landed in the car park of the Kinchant Dam boat ramp.
The patient had been pulled from the water by the occupants of the boat which had been towing him and was taken to the boat ramp to meet an ambulance and be transferred to the helicopter.
The man was flown to Mackay Base Hospital in a stable condition accompanied by his wife.
At 6pm yesterday, the crew were tasked to airlift a 19-year-old from Collinsville who had suffered pelvis, spinal and chest injuries when his dirt bike smashed into another crashed bike on a private property. He was flown to Mackay Base Hospital by RACQ CQ Rescue about 9pm.
Upon return to base, the service was last night tasked to fly 280km south-west to pick up a cardiac patient from Clermont hospital and transfer them to Mackay Base Hospital.
The chopper has now departed base again at 9am (Monday) to return to Clermont this morning to airlift another patient in need of medical treatment in Mackay.
It caps a busy weekend which started on Friday when RACQ CQ Rescue was tasked by Queensland Health to fly about 200km south-west of Mackay to a horse fall accident near May Downs.
A 51-year-old man had fallen from a horse while working on a remote property about 2pm and suffered a broken hip.
The rescue helicopter, with a doctor and Critical Care Paramedic on board, was landed on a dirt road near the property to meet the ambulance.
The patient was administered pain relief and was flown to Mackay Base Hospital in 45 minutes in a stable condition.
RACQ CQ Rescue has now completed 384 missions so far this year (to July 10).
An Eimeo man was pulled from the water and later flown to Mackay Base Hospital by RACQ CQ Rescue with spinal injuries after a waterskiing accident at Kinchant Dam yesterday.
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