A man on a multi-day rafting trip in the Australian state of Tasmania took a wrong step and ended up in a nearly day-long nightmare scenario. The 69-year-old Lithuanian man was traversing the Franklin River in a remote southwest part of the state when, while scouting alongside the waterway Friday, he slipped on a rock and ended up stuck in a crevice, partially submerged. It took rescuers 20 hours to free him, and they ultimately had to amputate his leg above the knee, the Guardian reports. The man, who has five decades of experience whitewater rafting, was then airlifted to a hospital in critical condition, News.com.au reports.
"He was wedged like an hourglass. He had his knee trapped in rocks in a deep section of that rapid. There were a number of hazards that we had to work around to gain access to the patient," says one member of the rescue team. The team used ropes and pulleys, airbags and hydraulic tools, but they were unable to move the rocks and free the man. "This rescue was the worst case scenario of the worst case scenario," says a local police officer. "Every resource possible was used before the amputation." He remained hospitalized as of Sunday. The other 10 people on the trip were airlifted out of the area, the BBC reports. (More Tasmania stories.)
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