Paraglider winched to safety after crashing into cliff near Rainbow Beach
A paraglider has helped save the life of his seriously injured mate after their adventure went wrong when one crashed into an 80m cliff in an isolated and dangerous spot near Rainbow Beach. VIDEO, PHOTOS
Gympie
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A paraglider has helped save the life of his seriously injured mate after their adventure went badly wrong when one crashed into an 80m cliff in an isolated and dangerous spot near Rainbow Beach on Tuesday night.
Due to difficult terrain paramedics were unable to reach the patient, aged in his 20s and with spinal and back injuries, and he had to be winched to safety.
A LifeFlight statement released on Wednesday said the Sunshine Coast-based LifeFlight aeromedical crew winched him to safety after he crashed into an 80m sand cliff in the Gympie region.
The rescue crew was tasked to the remote Rainbow Beach incident on the Cooloola Great Walk track at 6pm on Tuesday.
It is believed the man was experienced and paragliding with a friend when he got into trouble just before sunset.
His friend had to circle for 20 minutes before finding a spot to land and then climbed up to reassure his friend, call 000 and held onto his harness to prevent his mate from falling off a 20m embankment.
The Queensland Fire Department was the first on scene and used an ATV to get to the scene while others walked 2km to reach the site.
QFD were lowered 60m down the steep, sandy slope in the dark to reach the paraglider.
The multi-agency, three-hour rescue included four QFD teams, SES volunteers, Queensland Ambulance Service paramedics and Queensland Police Service.
A LifeFlight rescue crewman and critical care doctor were winched down first followed by the flight paramedic with equipment and then the rescue stretcher with more medical equipment.
A LifeFlight rescue crew officer and QFD officer dug out a 15m pathway on the sand ledge and stabilised a section to enable the stretcher to lay flat.
The patient was treated under torchlight for suspected spinal and back injuries.
He was flown to Sunshine Coast University Hospital for further treatment.
In other overnight news, paramedics responded to a reported single-vehicle crash with fire on the Bruce Highway at 5.33pm on Tuesday.
A man and woman, both in their 20s, were assessed on scene, and the woman was transported to Sunshine Coast University Hospital in a stable condition.
And back in Gympie, two patients were transported in stable conditions to Gympie Hospital following a two-vehicle crash on Channon Street at 6.22pm on Tuesday.
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