Working in search and rescue operations for more than 20 years, Tasmania Police Sergeant and Westpac Rescue Helicopter crew chief Damian Bidgood said the past week had been one of the busiest he had seen.
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The chopper was tasked to at least five locations across the state with a combination of bushwalker and medivac incidents reported. Three of those incidents occurred on the same day.
The week started with the rescue of an 18-year-old man who had slipped and fallen while walking in the Derwent Cliffs Reserve at New Norfolk.
The following day, a 13-year-old New South Wales boy with a suspected snake bite at Hazards Beach on the Freycinet Peninsular was transported to hospital. Less than an hour later, a bushwalker needed to be rescued from Hartz Peak in the state’s South.
That same afternoon, a five-year-old girl was rushed to the Launceston General Hospital from Pioneer in the North-East after she was bitten by a tiger snake.
The latest of missions involved a diabetic bushwalker who found himself in dire need of sugar while trekking at Leven Canyon in the North-West.
“These weeks happen occasionally [but] it was a busier than normal week for this time of year,” Sergeant Bidgood said.
“While it’s not uncommon for the helicopter to be out everyday, when you start having three or four jobs in one day that’s fairly busy.”
Last year, Tasmania Police search and rescue completed 253 operational hours for the month of January including 37 tasks in the North, 20 in the West and 94 in the South.
In the 2015-16 financial year, crews clocked up 489 operational hours compared to 325 the previous year with 58 operations in the North, 49 in the West and 155 in the South.
Sergeant Bidgood reminded both residents and visitors to the state to “always be prepared”.
“In Tasmania the weather can be unpredictable … plan your walks properly, make sure someone knows where you are going and be prepared.”