Rescue on Easter Sunday

By Lachlan Ellis

Local SES volunteers have performed a tricky rescue this month, rescuing a man with a broken leg who had been hiking in bushland.

Sunday 9 April will be a date the hiker is unlikely to forget any time soon, with Bacchus Marsh SES Unit Controller Bill Robson telling the Moorabool News that the man had reportedly injured himself hours before SES volunteers arrived.

“We received the call at 6.51pm. Three SES vehicles and eight volunteers responded. We have volunteers based in Bacchus Marsh and Ballan who responded to this call,” Mr Robson said.

“The area was quite remote and not accessible even to four-wheel-drive vehicles. Crews had to hike into the man’s location. The male had reportedly injured himself up to four hours earlier, and had been found by friends.”

Cold, wet, and dark conditions in the bush made for a tricky extraction for the SES volunteers, requiring the use of a ‘mule’ – an all-terrain wheeled stretcher – to get the injured man to safety.

“The operation took about two hours, with the male being transported to hospital with a suspected broken leg,” Mr Robson said.