RACQ CQ Rescue conducts 10 rescues across Mackay-Whitsundays

It has been a busy few days for the heroes at RACQ CQ Rescue, with nine call-outs over the long weekend and then another at Eungella on Monday afternoon. SEE THE PHOTOS AND VIDEO

From deep in the Galilee Basin to the islands off the Whitsundays, RACQ CQ Rescue has been on a furious round of rescues, clocking up 10 over the past few days.

The Mackay-based rescue chopper flew three missions to Hamilton Island since Friday, including an urgent call-out at midnight on Saturday.

The crew flew a 30-year-old Townsville tourist who had smashed his head on a bitumen road after falling from a golf buggy.

The injured man required a medevac to Townsville.

It took more than over eight hours and the helicopter flying more than 700km with a doctor and critical care paramedic on board to retrieve the injured patient and fly him to Townsville University Hospital in a serious but stable condition.

On Saturday, the crew transferred a 52-year-old worker to Mackay Base Hospital from a cattle property in the Eungella Hinterland about 160km west of Mackay after a one-tonne hay bale fell on him, crushing him.

On Thursday, a patient was also flown from a cattle property at Lotus Creek with a serious shoulder injury after falling from a horse while mustering cattle.

RACQ CQ Rescue transferred a 52-year-old worker to Mackay Base Hospital from a cattle property in the Eungella hinterland about 160km west of Mackay. Picture: RACQ CQ Rescue

The chopper heroes also took on a 3am mission on Monday to fly to Bravus Camp 6, 300km west of Mackay to transport a patient with a serious respiratory condition.

It also conducted a hospital transfer from Collinsville to Mackay.

And the call-outs continued into Monday afternoon with the helicopter deployed for a mammoth six-hour job to rescue a bushwalker in Eungella.

The 65-year-old bushwalker slipped and broke his ankle and the chopper received the call for help at 3pm, the rescue service reported.

RACQ CQ Rescue received co-ordinates for the emergency beacon, which pinpointed where the man in distress was to within 120m of an exact location.

The rocky bush terrain and thick tree canopy made it impossible for the helicopter crew to get a visual on the bushwalker, so after one hour of aerial searching, the decision was made to offload the doctor and critical care paramedic at a nearby farm to reduce aircraft weight and send the rescue crewman on board down the winch to search for the walker.

The rescue crewman, Keeley Wakefield, was winched down through a clearing in the tree canopy next to Broken River onto a large rock who then searched the adjacent bushland for the injured walker as the sun set.

Mr Wakefield waded through the river on mossy rocks and navigated thick bush, vines and broken branches for more than half an hour after hearing the injured man blow a rescue whistle.

“I could hear the whistle and sometimes hear him shouting out but it was very rough going – there was no track and the difficult terrain made it very slow going,” Mr Keeley said.

The RACQ CQ Rescue crew winch a man from dense bushland at Broken River near Eungella on Monday, June 13, 2022. Picture: RACQ CQ Rescue

“Plus, it was right on last light.

“After searching for a while, I realised he was actually on the other side of the river and that the best chance of me getting to him was to be winched back out and dropped closer to his exact location which was about 100 metres away.”

As Mr Wakefield was winched down again from the chopper, he saw the flash from the injured walker’s camera, so he could pinpoint his exact location.

The helicopter flew the walker back to base at Mackay Airport where he was then taken by ambulance to Mackay Base Hospital.

Originally published as RACQ CQ Rescue conducts 10 rescues across Mackay-Whitsundays