On Friday afternoon, an elderly Lithuanian tourist became trapped and partially submerged between boulders in Tasmania’s Franklin River. The 65-year-old man was kayaking the river with a group of 10 other people and slipped while scouting an area.
His leg became trapped in a rock crevice while his friends watched helplessly from the shore. An hour later, at around 3:30 pm, authorities were alerted to his situation.
A dangerous river
The Franklin River runs through 130km of mountainous terrain in the Central Highlands of Tasmania. It was named after John Franklin, a governor of Tasmania best known for his disastrous 1845 Arctic expedition.
While not as remote as the Northwest Passage, the river is formidable enough that deaths and near-deaths are not unheard of. Much of the river also runs through dense forest, making rescue difficult.
Franklin Gordon Wild Rivers National Park is popular with kayakers, but the remote beauty also makes it dangerous. Photo: Shutterstock
Though the area was not easily accessible, emergency workers succeeded in reaching the scene. A joint operation between Ambulance Tasmania, Tasmania Police, Surf Life Saving Tasmania, the State Emergency Service, and the Tasmania Fire Service began attempts to free the man.
Drastic measures
But his leg was too tightly wedged, and they failed repeatedly. As the hours wore on, they tried to make the man, who spoke little English, as comfortable as possible by giving him food and water. A Lithuanian doctor, who had also been part of the kayaking group, served as translator. The medical team stayed with him through the night. In the morning, they made another unsuccessful attempt to free him.
The man’s condition was deteriorating, and the rescuers had to take drastic measures. Both the victim and his rescuers agreed that they should remove his trapped leg in the hope of saving his life.
They sedated the man and amputated his leg above the knee. Then the man, now freed but in critical condition, was airlifted to the Royal Hobart Hospital on Saturday, where he remains.
“This rescue was the worst-case scenario of worst-case scenarios,” the rescue team admitted.
