Paddler's leg amputated in river rescue

[stevet]

Here’s one river tragedy I have never heard of….and hope never again to…

Tasmania: Kayaker's leg amputated in river after 20-hour rescue

Medics made the "life or death" decision with the tourist after multiple attempts to free him from rapids failed.

www.bbc.com

I know it’s a kayaker and not technically canoe tripping, but just a cautionary tale about being out in the wilderness.

 

[Mason]

In a similar vein, I had a kayaker surgeon that got pinned in a river either in S.A. or Africa. Her partners broke her leg in pulling her out of the cockpit as she was aspirating water. I had to wait for her recovery for my diagnosis and surgery (I had fractured C7 in my neck, and had a diskectomy and spinal fusion--she did a great job!).

 

[UCanoe_2]

A 65 year old Lithuanian man on a river trip in Tasmania had his leg amputated as a last resort, after all efforts to free him from an entrapment had failed. He had been in the water for 20 hours, and even though he wore a wet suit and PFD, hypothermia was setting in. The man is now in intensive care.

https://www.msn.com/en-au/health/ot...ver-rafting-adventure-in-tasmania/ar-AA1uGQKl

 

[Alan Gage]

I can't imagine what that scenario must have been like for all involved.

Not being a whitewater paddler I had heard of leg entrapment but never really understood it until I did a trip where I had to do a lot of wading in a river that was as jumble of large round rocks. On multiple occasions my foot would slip into a gap between the rocks and become wedged. I'd have to stop and balance while I worked my foot free. All of a sudden the possible seriousness of that situation became apparent. I could see that all it would take was loosing balance in strong current with a trapped foot to spell disaster. But I never even considered that one could become entrapped and never be able to free yourself with a little time and effort. For a solo paddler that's an even scarier thought.

Alan

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

That was an amazing rescue amputation in such a remote place. The guy is lucky to be alive.

I've always remembered a foot entrapment/drowning illustration in Bill Mason's "Path of the Paddle" book. This isn't it, but it conveys the same message with an illustration and words.



I saw a person drown this way in the 1980s on the main Sacandaga River in New York, an easy whitewater but high CFS run that is popular for rafting. A commercial rafting passenger was flipped out of the raft. He tried to stand up, got his foot wedged in bed rocks, got forced over underwater, and drowned within ten minutes—even though several people were within 50 feet of him. We were watching from a bridge downstream as the body was being retrieved.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Here's a news report with some video and photos of the rescue:

 

[Tsuga8]

Thanks for sharing. I'd call it very relevant - anyone could slip along rocks on shore while scouting, even a single-blader. Good reminder that reasonable caution is always needed.