A woman in her 50s has been carried to safety by rescue crews after falling from a ledge in WA’s remote Karijini National Park.
The woman, a solo traveller touring Australia, took a tumble while walking at Dales Gorge on Tuesday.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) said the lady was around 150 metres from the Circular Pool entry track and fell around two metres into the water.
Tom Price SES unit manager Sue Davies told the ABC that the woman had become lost on the path when she slipped into the water, hurting her ankle.
“She’s lucky there were other people down there and they had heard her calls for help, and have obviously stopped to help her and sent somebody to get emergency services on the way,” Ms Davies said.
Beautiful Karijini National Park is a popular spot to visit in the dry season. PIC: Cizza
While the woman was cold and in a fair bit of pain, she remained conscious throughout her ordeal.
Nearly a dozen volunteers from Tom Price SES took around two-and-a-half hours to carry the woman out of the park on a stretcher. She was then taken to Tom Price Hospital for treatment.
The rescue operation itself sparked bit of unwanted extra excitement when the crews came across a death adder in their path, which temporarily stopped them in their tracks.
The ABC reports that Karijini National Park is a popular tourist destination during winter months, and Tom Price SES volunteers are often called on to respond to rescues there.
In 2021 the volunteer service responded to 10 rescues, most of which were in the national park.
Ms Davies told the ABC that visitors, particularly those travelling alone, should bring an EPIRB with them while walking in the remote gorges, and stick to the tracks where possible.
“The tracks are the safest way to go and enjoy the gorges,” she said.
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Just shows the true value we should place in our volunteer services, especially in more remote places. I did my bit until I became too old to be of true value then left it up to the younger folk. If you have younger and fit members of your extended families, please mention the value of volunteering, when younger, to them.
It is a lovely place, been there twice, and you have to be very carefull where you walk, vert loose surface.