Dramatic rescue for woman stuck upside down trying to retrieve phone

The 23-year-old was on a hike with friends when she tried to retrieve her fallen phone, only to find herself stuck between a rock and a hard place – literally.

A woman found herself in a rough spot after slipping into a 3m crevice after dropping her phone in northern NSW.

The 23-year-old was hiking with her friends in the Hunter Valley on October 12 when she accidentally dropped her phone into a plunging crevice on a Laguna property in Cessnock.

A woman has been rescued in The Hunter Valley after being stuck between rocks while trying to retrieve her mobile phone. Picture: NSW Ambulance / Facebook

The woman leant down to try and retrieve her phone, but fell face first and plunged 3m into the crevice.

Left hanging on only by her feet, her friends desperately tried to pull her out of the rocks, but an hour later, they were unsuccessful. Without her phone to call for help and no reception, her friends called Triple 0 for assistance.

Specialist teams were called in to retrieve the woman. Picture: NSW Ambulance / Facebook

A 500kg boulder was moved out of the way. Picture: NSW Ambulance / Facebook

Blocking their way were large boulders, which required NSW Ambulance specialist rescue paramedic Peter Watts to call other multidisciplinary specialists to remove the enormous rocks out of the way, which weighed 500kg, and install a hardwood frame to ensure stability and rescue the woman.

The woman’s feet then became accessible, but the fight was far from over.

It took seven hours to get the woman free from the tight “S” bend. Picture: NSW Ambulance / Facebook

Rescue team members then had to assist the woman escaping the narrow “S” bend she had found herself in, with rescue teams taking over an hour to navigate her out of the tight spot.

Seven hours after first slipping through the cracks of the rocky surface, and with the help of a specialised Tirfor winch and plenty of teamwork, she was finally freed and back on solid ground.

Sadly, she never got her phone back.

It was one of the most unique rescue missions the team had experienced.

“In my 10 years as a rescue paramedic I had never encountered a job quite like this, it was challenging but incredibly rewarding,” said Mr Watts. “Every agency had a role, and we all worked incredibly well together to achieve a good outcome for the patient.”

Sadly, she never got her phone back. Picture: NSW Ambulance / Facebook

The 23-year-old said while she was incredibly lucky to only receive a few cuts and bruises from the entire ordeal, it’s unlikely she’ll be going back for another bushwalk.

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

Originally published as Dramatic rescue for woman stuck upside down trying to retrieve phone