September 3, 2017
An injured trail bike rider was rescued on Saturday morning after spending an uncomfortable night in bushland off Black Snake Road, south-east of Kilkivan.
The 47-year-old man had been trailbike riding in Wrattens National Park and decided to camp for the night.
After setting up camp, the rider decided to move his bike. However, while he was attempting to do so he slipped and the bike fell on top of him, breaking his leg.
The man found he was unable to leave his campsite due to his injury but decided to re-assess his condition in the morning as he was well-equipped for the night.
At 6:00am, he activated his personal emergency beacon which alerted AMSA – the Australian Maritime Safety Authority in Canberra, which has responsibility for search and rescues.
Goomeri Police began a search and rescue effort on the ground, joined by the Bundaberg-based RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter just before 7:00am.
The rescue helicopter located the campsite and winched a QAS Flight Paramedic to the ground where he treated the man for his injury.
RACQ LifeFlight pilot Mike Thomas said the rider’s actions and preparedness had assisted rescue authorities to quickly find him.
“He had his personal locator beacon with him which sent co-ordinates to AMSA in Canberra that they provided to us,” Mike said.
“Our on-board beacon receiver took us right over the top of the injured rider. The fact that his tent was a bright orange colour made it easy to spot him, and we were able to winch the paramedic down.”
Officer-in-charge of Goomeri Police, Sergeant Dave Gillies, said that thanks to the team work and emergency beacon the man was located, safely driven to the helicopter and flown to hospital all within a two-hour timeframe.
“This incident just shows the value of riders or drivers if heading into the forest areas/bushland and remote locations to have such a device on board, expect the unexpected and be prepared … it could save your life!” Sgt Gillies said.
The injured rider was airlifted to the Bundaberg Base Hospital in a stable condition.
