A man in his 60s has had his leg amputated after he became stuck for more than 20 hours between rocks in the Franklin River in Tasmania's remote south-west. Tasmania Police said the rescue was "an extremely challenging and technical operation" and every effort was made to extract the man before his leg was amputated.
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00:00A man is receiving life-saving treatment in hospital after being rescued from Tasmania's
00:08Franklin River by having his leg amputated.
00:11The man in his 60s was on a multi-day packrafting tour with a group of friends when he walked
00:17to scout the area by the river and slipped on a rock around 3pm yesterday.
00:22He became stuck with his leg wedged between rocks while waist-deep in water.
00:27The man, who was wearing a wetsuit, was able to use his smartwatch to send an emergency
00:32message and his GPS location.
00:35A team of around 30 responders from a specialist unit with doctors and police personnel were
00:41deployed to the remote location.
00:44Tasmania Police say several attempts were made to free the man, but none were successful,
00:49and his condition started to deteriorate today after more than 20 hours stuck waist-deep
00:56in cold waters.
00:57It was a life and death decision, and from that advice, in consultation with the injured
01:04man, his leg was amputated using specialist equipment and doctors at the scene.
01:10He was sedated for the operation just above his left knee, which happened underwater.
01:16He was then winched and airlifted here to the Royal Hobart Hospital, where he remains
01:21in a critical condition.