One of the most famous coastal walks in Sydney was the scene of drama on New Year’s Day with lifesavers assisting in a multi-agency rescue operation after a young woman suffered a suspected broken leg following a fall.
The State Operations Centre was alerted to reports of the incident at Mackenzies Point shortly after 12pm on Monday, and immediately tasked available assets to respond.
Lifesavers from Bondi, the Sydney Branch Jet Ski, and the Off-shore Rescue Boat all made their way to the scene as did a Duty Officer, Council Lifeguards, Police, and Paramedics while the Westpac Lifesaving Helicopter was also placed on standby.
It is understood that the 19-year-old woman became stuck on the rocks after falling from approximately six metres.
Because of the location of the incident, approximately halfway along the Bondi to Bronte coastal walk, an extraction was always going to present a challenge.
The lifesavers administered initial first-aid treatment before she was handed into the care of paramedics and was later transported to hospital via ambulance.
Elsewhere in one particular demanding period on Monday, the State Operations Centre was simultaneously coordinating assets to five separate incidents in the Illawarra.
Operations involving multiple assets were being conducted at Corrimal, North Wollongong, Thirroul, Woonona and Fairy Meadow.
Meanwhile New Year’s Day lived up to its reputation as one of the traditionally busiest days of the season for our volunteer lifesavers.
Across the three days of patrol last weekend, which included the public holiday of January 1, our members performed almost 300 rescues.
“It’s been a busy period for our hardworking members but I would like to publically acknowledge the efforts of our volunteers over the festive season who gave up so much of their time to keep the beach safe,” said SLSNSW CEO Steven Pearce.
Wednesday 3 January 2018