Add Category
Dramatic photos have emerged of the intense rescue of a young woman who fell into a rock crevice and was stuck upside down for seven hours in the New South Wales Hunter Valley.
Matilda Campbell was bushwalking with friends at Laguna, near Cessnock, earlier this month when she dropped her mobile phone while taking photos.
While attempting to retrieve it the 23-year-old slipped and fell three metres between two large boulders and became stuck, hanging by her feet.
There was no phone reception and when her friends could not free her, they searched for a location where they could call triple-0 for help.
The Cessnock Volunteer Rescue Association and Rural Fire Service were among the first responders in the multi-agency response that ensued.
A wooden frame was built to prevent rocks from breaking and falling onto Ms Campbell during the rescue operation. (Supplied: NSW Ambulance)
After finding Ms Campbell, who had at that point been stuck for more than an hour, police and paramedics were called in to assist.
NSW Ambulance special operations and rescue paramedic Peter Watts said Ms Campbell was in good spirits despite her predicament.
"She was such a trooper," he said.
"I would have been beside myself stuck in that sort of situation, but when we were there she was calm, she was collected, anything we asked her to do she was able to do it to help us get her out.
"I was very impressed with how chilled she was."
Numerous agencies were involved in the complex rescue operation. (Supplied: NSW Ambulance)
Crews had to remove seven boulders weighing between 80 to 500 kilograms to gain access to Ms Campbell.
A wooden frame was built between Ms Campbell and the boulders above in case the stone cracked and fell.
The boulders were slowly winched out of the way, allowing rescuers to get to her feet.
Mr Watts climbed down into the tight space and said he had never experienced anything like it.
"Everyone had to bounce ideas off each other — we were all like, 'How did she get down there and how are we going to get her out?'" he said.
"I've never been to one in 10 years like that.
"It was an out-of-the-box rescue, that's for sure."
Ms Campbell thanked her rescuers in a social media post on a NSW Ambulance site and confirmed her phone did not survive the incident.
"Thank you to the team who saved me," she wrote.
"You guys are literally lifesavers … too bad about the phone though."