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13 May 2008

Paramedics treat man trapped down hole

Metropolitan Ambulance Service paramedics have treated a man who was trapped down a hole at Narre Warren for more than two hours after an industrial accident this morning.

Advanced life support paramedics from Berwick, intensive care paramedics from Hampton Park, an urban search and rescue trained intensive care paramedic and the ambulance helicopter were called to a water retarding basin at Narre Warren just before nine o’clock.

The first paramedics arrived within ten minutes to find a 37 year-old worker at the bottom of a four metre deep hole.

Intensive care paramedic Andrew Burns says it is believed the man was lowered into the hole using an excavator, and was injured when the digger’s bucket hit his leg.

‘He was in excruciating pain from the fractured leg,’ he said.

‘Initially a pain relief inhaler was dropped into the hole to give the man some comfort, while C-F-A crews shored-up the side of the hole to prevent collapse.

‘Conditions were extremely dangers. The dirt was damp, and there was a risk of collapse. The primary focus is safety. You aren’t saving anyone if the pit collapses, and the fire brigade has done a fantastic job.

‘Once it was made safe, an urban rescue trained intensive care paramedic was then lowered into the hole, and put a drip in the man’s arm to give him more pain relief drugs.

‘With the assistance of the CFA, the man was lifted to the surface, and further assessed by paramedics.

‘He was loaded onto the ambulance helicopter and airlifted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a stable condition, suffering a fractured leg..’

ENDS.