Tasmania breaking news: Police provide update on rescue of man trapped by rocks in the Franklin River

A man in his 60s has been rescued in an operation that took 20-hours where the decision was made to amputate his leg. The details.

Scene of the Franklin River rescue where a man in his 60's became trapped and had to have his leg amputated. Picture: Tasmania Police

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Man has leg amputated after complex river rescue

5.20pm:

An international tourist who was partly submerged in the waters of the remote Franklin River for more than 20 hours has made the heartbreaking decision to have his leg amputated after he fell and became wedged between rocks.

The man, who is in his 60s and was packrafting with a group of 10 other friends south-west of Frenchmans Cap, was subsequently airlifted to the Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH) by the Westpac rescue chopper,.

He remains in a critical condition.

Map showing the area on the Franklin River where a man in his 60's became trapped and had to have his leg amputated. Picture: supplied by Tasmania Police

About 3.30pm on Friday, authorities received an emergency alert sent via the man’s satellite-enabled Garmin smart watch.

A lengthy and complex multi-agency response was launched, mobilising about 30 personnel from Tasmania Police and Ambulance Tasmania, as well as Surf Life Saving Tasmania, the State Emergency Service, the Tasmania Fire Service and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.

Despite the best efforts of rescuers, several attempts to extract the man on Friday evening, overnight ,and Saturday were unsuccessful, and as his condition deteriorated he was left with little choice but to give emergency services consent to amputate his left leg above the knee.

Providing a harrowing account of the operation, Tasmania Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Doug Oosterloo said the rafting party was “quite well-prepared and well-resourced” and that the rescued man was wearing a wetsuit.

Authorities have not yet been able to contact his family.

“They’d stopped kayaking there on the shore [and] he was scouting the area and he slipped and fell into a rock crevice,” Acting Assistant Oosterloo said.

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to move the rocks and that’s what led to the decision to amputate. The risk to him and his survivability if he was left there was just too great. And so, based on the medical advice, his leg was amputated and that allowed him to be free to be taken quickly to the hospital.

Westpac rescue chopper. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

“The beauty of Tasmania’s wilderness is what attracts people to this state but that wilderness is also some of the most challenging and rugged terrain in the world, and even if you are well prepared, even if you do take all necessary precautions, things can go wrong.”

Ambulance Tasmania critical care and retrieval unit director Charles Wendell-Smith said the man was provided “sufficient procedural sedation and analgesia” for the amputation.

“Obviously there was some concern for maintaining his temperature and hypothermia but also any time where there’s prolonged entrapment, there’s medical considerations which inform the decisions to expedite recovery,” he said.

“I’m informed by the clinicians who were treating the patient that he was resilient and positive throughout the rescue attempts, and very positively focused and optimistic to be rescued and get out of the situation that he was in.”

Mr Wendell-Smith said it was a “challenging” and hazardous environment in which to conduct a rescue operation and one of Ambulance Tasmania’s clinicians slipped and injured their wrist and was now under assessment at the RHH.

Authorities were still in the process of airlifting the other members of the rafting party to Hobart late on Saturday afternoon.

4pm: A man has had his leg amputated and is in a critical condition in hospital after being rescued when he was wedged between rocks on rapids on the Franklin River.

The 60-year-old, who is an international visitor, has been flown to the Royal Hobart Hospital after a 20-hour rescue mission finally freed him on Saturday. He had been stuck since Friday afternoon.

Police said the man was packrafting with a group of friends when his leg became trapped.

A call for assistance was made by a smartwatch about 3.30pm Friday.

A/Assistant Commissioner Doug Oosterloo and Director, Critical Care and Retrieval Unit at Ambulance Tasmania, Charles Wendell-Smith. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

A multi-agent response dealt with an added layer of complexity due to the poor level of accessibility of the Franklin River.

The amputation, police say, occurred after earlier attempts to free the man. It was successfully undertaken by a medical team with the aid of specialist equipment.

“This rescue was an extremely challenging and technical operation, and an incredible effort over many hours to save the man’s life,” Tasmania Police Acting Assistant Commissioner, Doug Oosterloo said.

“Every effort was made to extract the man before the difficult decision to amputate his leg.

“The professionalism and commitment of all emergency responders is to be commended.

“I’d like to thank everyone who contributed to this operation in the most difficult of circumstances.”

9.45am: A man has been stuck in water for more than 18 hours after his upper leg was trapped by rocks.

Tasmania Police provided an update on the complex rescue operation of a man from the Franklin River in Tasmania’s south-west.

The efforts continue after police say an alert was raised by a smartwatch activation just before 3.30pm on Friday.

Emergency services and specialist resources, including the Westpac Rescue Helicopter, are responding.

Licenced Hobart venues doing the right thing: Police

Tasmania Police compliance officers in Salamanca ensuring night venues are doing the right thing. Picture: Tasmania Police

More than a dozen licenced venues and security guards were inspected as authorities conducted compliance checks in Hobart on Friday night.

Acting Commander Hohn Toohey said all 19 venues and 39 security guards across Sandy Bay, Hobart and North Hobart were adhering to the rules.

“The operation took an educational approach, engaging with owners and staff to reinforce the responsibilities of security agents,” Acting Commander Toohey said.

“It was encouraging to see that all venues and personnel were adhering to the regulations.

“Our primary goal as police is to ensure public safety, and initiatives like this are crucial in achieving that.”

Tasmania Police compliance officers in Salamanca ensuring night venues are doing the right thing. Picture: Tasmania Police

Paul Cummins, the acting director of compliance at Consumer, Building and Occupational Services emphasised the importance of compliance checks, especially during the busy festive season.

“Collaboration efforts like these help keep Hobart a safe and enjoyable place for everyone,”

Further operations are planned thorough the festive period, authorities say.

Subaru crashes into on-duty police car, officers say

A marked police vehicle was involved in a two-vehicle crash that hospitalised the cars’ occupants with minor injuries.

The incident occurred about 9.30pm on Friday when the police vehicle was travelling south on the Tasman Highway approaching Brinktop Rd, north of Sorell.

Officers suspect a blue Subaru Impreza wagon was approaching the T-section and appeared to have failed to give way when it collided with the police vehicle.

The road was not blocked at the time and remains open to normal traffic.

Also overnight, a search and rescue was under way following reports a person required assistance at the Franklin River after their foot became stuck under rocks.

The Westpac Helicopter was also responding to the incident triggered by a Garmin inReach device activation, near the Franklin River, in the state’s south-west.