Newcastle woman who was trapped for 7 hours after falling into crevice speaks out about ‘crazy’ ordeal

The young woman who found herself trapped upside-down between two boulders has opened up about the scary incident.

The young woman who found herself trapped upside-down between two boulders after falling into a crevice in the Hunter Valley, in NSW has opened up about the scary incident.

Matilda Campbell said she was trying retrieve her phone after dropping it on a bushwalk with friends.

While attempting to retrieve her device, Campbell fell into a narrow, S-shaped hole between two massive rocks, leaving her hanging upside-down and trapped three-metres deep.

Her friends tried desperately to free her, but after an hour of fruitless effort, they trudged off to get phone service to call emergency services.

Images of the daring rescue quickly went viral, showing only Campbell’s feet protruding from the crevice.

Specialist paramedics from NSW Ambulance, led by Peter Watts, eventually managed to free her by constructing a wooden frame around the area and using a winch to shift a 500kg boulder.

The entire ordeal lasted around seven hours.

Matilda Campbell said she was trying retrieve her phone after dropping it on a bushwalk with friends.

The entire ordeal lasted around seven hours.

Now, Campbell is sharing her side of the story, injecting some humour into her near-fatal scenario.

“Not my feet on display like that,” she joked on Facebook.

“It’s safe to say I’m the most accident-prone person ever. I am okay – just have some injuries I’m recovering from, no more rock exploration for me for a while!”

Despite being stuck for more than seven hours, Campbell miraculously walked away with only minor injuries.

Images of the daring rescue quickly went viral, showing only Campbell’s feet protruding from the crevice.

Specialist paramedics from NSW Ambulance, led by Peter Watts, eventually managed to free her by constructing a wooden frame around the area and using a winch to shift a 500kg boulder.

She didn’t get her phone back, but judging from her lighthearted social media posts, it’s clear she’s grateful to be alive.

“Crazy to believe it was me but I’m doing good now, everything is nearly healed!” he said.

Campbell thanked the specialist team that saved her and her friends who sat through the ordeal.

“I wanted to give the biggest shoutout to my friends, the team who worked so hard to get me out,” she wrote.

“I’m forever thankful as most likely I would not be here today.”

Peter Watts, a specialist rescue paramedic said he’d never dealt with a scenario like Campbell’s, but her rescue was “incredibly rewarding”.

“In my 10 years as a rescue paramedic, I had never encountered a job quite like this,” he said.

“It was challenging but incredibly rewarding.”