Kalbarri SES rescues injured rock climber from 4 Ways Gorge in one of their most challenging recoveries

An injured rock climber was rescued by Kalbarri SES on the weekend from a remote and inhospitable gorge in one of the crew’s “most challenging recoveries yet”.

The tricky rescue saw a 29-year-old man with a broken ankle stretchered up rocky steep slopes and transported across the river bed in an inflatable raft.

Kalbarri SES received the call for assistance at 10.51am on Saturday and it turned out to be an arduous six-hour operation for them.

The injured climber had slipped and fallen 5m at 4 Ways Gorge in Kalbarri National Park. He was one of eight rock climbers in a sanctioned group.

“An injured hiker required assistance from an area of the park that is extremely difficult to access,” Kalbarri SES posted on Facebook. “The decision was made to send two of our team on and have the rest return to a more accessible location.”

An extraction plan to rescue the casualty was put into action, and after a difficult trek across a boulder-strewn river bed the rescuers were able to access the river.

The crew of eight was divided into a wet and dry team, with one using the inflatable raft and the other making their way back along the cliffs with the gear.

“It was necessary on a number of occasions to get the team together to carry the casualty and raft across rocky sections of river. Eventually we reached the largest pool and the long swim to the waiting ambos and SES team began,” the post read.

“On arrival at the designated location the casualty was packaged and medicated for the difficult carry out. This is an extremely difficult and dangerous section of the national park.”

Kalbarri SES unit manager Steve Cable said the most treacherous part of the recovery was stretchering the man an estimated 3km out of the gorge. He said it was one of the toughest rescues he’s experienced, with the only worse one that came to mind involving 48C heat.

He said it was a “sterling effort” by everyone involved, with the SES helped by the Department of Parks and Wildlife, Department of Fire and Emergency Services and St John WA.