Man, 27, impaled on fence after climbing tree in Nakara

A man is in a serious but stable condition after he was impaled on a fence in Nakara. Find out how he was rescued.

Emergency services have worked to free a man who “impaled” himself on a fence after falling from a tree in Darwin’s northern suburbs overnight.

A St John NT spokeswoman said the 27-year-old was climbing a tree before he fell about 1am on Sunday.

She said the man’s leg was injured after it was impaled on the fence “just above the knee”.

The spokeswoman said a critical response unit – a step up from a regular ambulance – was dispatched to the scene.

St John NT operations manager Craig Garraway told ABC Radio the situation “could have been a lot worse”, with firefighters helping paramedics in “unimpaling” the man.

An NTFRS spokesman said the fireys had used the jaws of life and pedal cutters to rescue the man from his position on the fence.

“The NTFRS work closely alongside St John’s when dealing with incidents involving road crash rescues, general rescues including impalements, structure fires and hazardous incidents,” he said.

“The NTFRS recruits undertake a 17 week program that teaches them the skills sets required to be a fire and rescue operator.

“This includes basic and technical rescue training … and continuous on the job training, including joint training sessions with other agencies.”

An NT health spokesman on Monday morning said the man was in a serious but stable condition.