Northern Territory Emergency Service staff and volunteers have collaborated with a range of emergency services to respond to and have been instrumental in the rescue and retrieval of countless community members across the Northern Territory. It is a reminder of the crucial role that NTES play in the broader community, locally and interstate, with volunteers often putting their personal lives on hold to assist communities during times of crisis.
Litchfield National Park
On 15 April 2021, Northern Territory Emergency Service (NTES) was called to rescue a 17-year-old who fell several metres down a cliff face in Litchfield National Park.
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Police were alerted by Parks and Wildlife that a young man had fallen from Florence Falls and was stuck about halfway down.
Ten NTES volunteers and staff from Darwin and Palmerston were mobilised, and staff from the local health clinic attended to assess the 17-year-old’s condition.
The team was able to retrieve him through a vertical rescue. He was then assessed by CareFlight and health staff as having non-life-threatening injuries.
The NTES crew, assisted by park rangers and the CareFlight crew hauled the youth up to the top of the cliff, traversed across a rock pool and carried him out to the waiting CareFlight rescue helicopter.
The retrieval was completed in an hour and is an example of the excellent collaborative efforts of NTES crews and other frontline agencies.
Photo Caption: The team was able to retrieve the man through a vertical rescue. Source: 9 News Darwin Facebook
Katherine
NTES volunteers went to the rescue of a walker who became trapped by a large boulder while on the 62km Jatbula Trail near Katherine in the Northern Territory, in August 2019.
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The group of walkers was three days into the well-known walk when, while crossing a rocky path near Crystal Falls, a large boulder dislodged and rolled onto a woman, trapping her by the leg.
St John Ambulance paramedics and rangers arrived on scene first via helicopter to stabilise the woman.
NTES crews used hydraulic equipment to extricate the woman from beneath the boulder, which was estimated to weigh several hundred kilos.
The emergency service crews and bystanders joined CareFlight's medical team to carry the woman in a stretcher across a creek and over the steep rocky ground about 150 metres to the helicopter for transportation to hospital.
It was well into the night before the woman was freed and could be airlifted to hospital. Picture: CareFlight
Uluru Rescue
In 2016, the NTES team from Alice Springs collaborated with rangers from Parks Australia and police from Yulara and Mutitjulu to rescue three 22-year-old men after they became trapped in a crevasse at Uluru.
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Stranded in one of the most remote parts of the Territory, the men were able to contact Parks Australia who requested assistance from the specialist NTES vertical rescue team from Alice Springs to assist with the challenging extrication.
In fading light and with a lack of anchors, the rescue effort was slow and methodical, with the team abseiling more than 300m to the stranded men.
Contending with strong winds tangling the rope, the team reached the men at around 11:30pm and then continued to take them down one at a time to the base of the rock, completing the rescue at 3:30am.
This enormous effort by NTES volunteers was celebrated as a world class rescue.
Photo Caption: An NTES member abseils the monolith to rescue the trapped man Credit: Photo: NT Police Force
Darwin Esplanade Rescue
On June 30 2022, a 61-year-old man fell from a cliff along the Esplanade in Darwin’s CBD.
Northern Territory Police, Fire and Emergency Services attended, along with members from St John Ambulance and CareFlight.
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The man was located conscious and injured. The difficult terrain required a vertical rescue, and the man was lifted out and conveyed to Royal Darwin Hospital.
NTES Manager Northern Command Operations Mark Cunnington said that the terrain along the Esplanade was steep and highly vegetated. “Multiple first response agencies working together enabled us to quickly and safely lift the man out and get him to medical professionals,” he said.
Photo Caption: The difficult terrain required a vertical rescue. Source: NT News