Victorian man breaks both legs falling down 30m sand dune cliff while walking dogs

A man’s morning coastal walk with his three dogs has ended in chaos after a 30m fall broke both his legs.

A man has broken both his legs after falling 30 metres down a sand dune cliff while walking his three dogs in Warrnambool, Victoria.

According to Fire Rescue Victoria, the dogs ran down the dunes at Levy’s Point Coastal Reserve just before 8am on Thursday morning, causing their owner to fall down the dunes and land next to the ocean.

With both legs broken and waves crashing onto him, he called triple-0 – with multiple agencies deployed to rescue him.

Emergency services were concerned the unstable dunes were at risk of a landslide.

The man broke both legs on a coastal walk with his three dogs. Picture: FRV

Fire Rescue Victoria commissioner Gavin Freeman said it was a complex rescue.

“This was a potentially volatile situation that required emergency services to work together

under significant time pressure,” he said.

“I congratulate all involved in this incredible rescue.”

Police had arrived first and moved the man away from the waves.

The man was taken to hospital by helicopter. Picture: FRV

Crews from FRV, Ambulance Victoria and the SES parked at the nearest car park and then loaded their equipment on an SES six-wheel Polaris ATV to get as close as they could, but still needed to carry the equipment by hand through sand and scrub to get to the injured man.

While Victoria’s south west coast is popular with tourists and it is school holidays, the man was a local.

“Luckily the man had his phone on him, and was a local, so he was able to provide us with accurate information about his location,” FRV acting assistant chief fire officer Greg Kinross said.

Paramedics on the ground loaded the man on to a stretcher and a helicopter winched him from below the steep cliff to take him to hospital.