BULAHDELAH Rural Fire Brigade (RFB) volunteers were involved in a major joint rescue operation near Mungo Brush, Myall Lakes National Park, saving the life of an 81-year-old male.
“We attended a call to a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) being set off in the National Park,” Rod Paar, the captain of Bulahdelah RFB, told News Of The Area.
The Bulahdelah brigade was joined by volunteers from the Bungwahl RFB, as well as elements of the NSW Police, NSW Ambulance, and rangers from the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).
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The man rescued, Ted Talbot, had been cycling in the vicinity of the Old Hawks Nest-Seal Rocks road.
The road was once used by the Mineral Deposits Limited rutile mining operation, but has not been cleared or maintained since that operation ended several decades ago, despite being a popular cycling and hiking track.
Mr Talbot is no stranger to the area after many years boating, camping and fishing.
He said he was prepared for a standard day out in the bush, having purchased and registered his PLB in preparation.
“I was cycling in the bush, as I have done for a number of years, in an area I knew, and headed down a fire trail to the beach,” he told NOTA.
“But it was too overgrown, so I turned back.
“I experienced some kind of vertigo attack [and] could not ride or walk, and there was not much shade on the hot, sunny day.”
“[I] activated my beacon [and] within 10-15 minutes I got a call from Canberra on the half-bar of the mobile signal out there.
“I must have passed out a few times, because when I heard a Bungwahl Brigade rescuer’s voice, I had been there for three hours.”
According to Captain Paar, the RFB vehicles were bouncing around so much on the track that they were compelled to call for an airlift.
“The only way to get him out safely, given his condition, was the Toll Rescue helicopter, called up from Sydney.
“The helicopter could not actually land, so they winched him up and flew him to John Hunter Hospital.”
Needless to say, the PLB saved Mr Talbot’s life.
“A very challenging job with a terrific outcome,” Captain Paar said.
Mr Talbot thanked the brigades by way of donations and added, “My wife won’t let me into the bush alone again.”
By Thomas O’KEEFE
