French Tourist Injured at Redbank Gorge

[Overlandman]

From ABC News, Sounds like a tough rescue

A French tourist is in a critical condition in Royal Adelaide Hospital after falling off a cliff at a Northern Territory national park.
NT Police say it was lucky a retired paramedic happened to be at Redbank Gorge in central Australia when the 25-year-old man fell about six metres down a cliff face.
The tourist suffered serious injuries, including a fractured skull and collar bone, a broken arm, two broken ankles and extensive lacerations to his scalp and face.
Police say there was a four-hour delay between receiving a report of the accident and medical crews arriving at the scene in the West MacDonnell National Park, more than 150 kilometres west of Alice Springs.
Watch Commander Phil Emmett says the incident happened about 1:00pm yesterday, after the tourist climbed on to the cliff, slipped and fell.
The man's travelling partner heard the fall and came to his aid, finding him in a "jackknifed" position, wedged upside-down between rocks.
"Luckily there was a retired paramedic present who was able to offer some assistance," Watch Commander Emmett said.
He said other travellers then went to the nearby Glen Helen Resort to advise rangers, who notified police.
Emergency services had been slow to reach the scene because of its remote location and difficult terrain, he said.
"It was a time-consuming and difficult rescue for those involved," he said.
Parks and Wildlife ranger Jessica Bonanni was involved in the rescue.
She says the injured man was loaded on to a stretcher and carried for two kilometres out of the gorge.
"We had about six to eight of us carrying him out and rotating," she said.
"Unfortunately, he couldn't be choppered out and it took quite a while to walk through the Redbank Gorge to get him to a vehicle, an ambulance."
A paramedic says a helicopter sent to the scene was too small to carry the injured man because it only had room to seat patients.
Steve Johnston says fears about spinal injuries meant the tourist had to be carried by stretcher.
"It took us nearly an hour and a half, two hours to carry him out through that terrain," he said.
"Unfortunately, we didn't have a larger helicopter."
The injured man was then taken to Alice Springs Hospital, arriving at about 7:30pm, more than six hours after the accident.
Because of the extent of his injuries, he was later flown to Royal Adelaide Hospital.

[north-north-west]

They walked out through the main gorge? Water level must be low, then. Pity.

[Strider]

Hallu?