‘He was wedged like an hourglass’: rescuers describe 20-hour ordeal ending with amputation of rafter’s leg

A 69-year-old Lithuanian man has been praised for his “extraordinary resilience” after emergency service workers were forced to amputate his leg during a 20-hour rescue operation in remote south-west Tasmania.

The man, who remained in a critical condition in Royal Hobart hospital on Sunday evening, had been travelling with a group of 11 tourists on a multi-day rafting trip on the remote Franklin River.

He slipped on a rock while walking beside the river and became trapped, partially submerged, in a crevice for close to 20 hours.

Mitch Parkinson, an intensive care flight paramedic with Ambulance Tasmania, was among the first people on the scene. He said it was “the most challenging case that I have ever taken part in”.

“This was an exceptionally strong and resilient man and he maintained that throughout the night,” Parkinson said. “Our efforts were to keep him warm as best as possible, to keep him fed and watered as much as we could.”

One of the two surf lifesavers who worked to free the man, Ace Petrie, said when he first reached the man, he was submerged from chest down in fast moving water.

Leave a Comment