Kayaker’s leg amputated to save his life after he was trapped in river for 20 hours

A tourist has had his leg amputated in Tasmania after getting trapped in a ‘raging’ river while kayaking.

Medics attending to the holidaymaker in his 60s said they made a ‘life or death’ decision during the intense 20-hour rescue mission on the Franklin river.

The visitor, who was on a kayaking trip with friends, was partially submerged through the whole gruelling ordeal.

Rescuers said that ‘had he remained in the location where he was, and trapped in the rock crevice he would not have survived’.

Prior to the amputation, medics made multiple attempts to move him all of which were unsuccessful, police in the Australian island state said.

He had been kayaking with a group of friends in the south-west of Tasmania when his leg got stuck between rocks in the raging river rapids.

The man managed to call for help from his smart watch, with emergency services rushing to the remote and inaccessible area.

‘This was a life and death situation,’ Doug Oosterloo, acting assistant commissioner at Tasmania Police, said in a statement.

‘This rescue was an extremely challenging and technical operation, and an incredible effort over many hours to save the man’s life,’ he told Australian national broadcaster ABC.

Osterloo said the kayaker had been ‘well prepared’, however had not been prepared to spend ‘that significant amount of time in a rock crevice with that temperature and the torrent of water that was he was under.’

The man, who is now in critical condition in hospital, had been scouting the area when he slipped, Osterloo said.

The other ten holidaymakers who had been kayaking with the man were reportedly airlifted from the area, and police are looking to speak to them about how the accident occured, the Australian Associated Press said.

Last month, a photographer survived in the wilderness for two weeks after being bitten by a venomous snake.

Wildlife photographer Lovisa ‘Kiki’ Sjoberg, 48, disappeared after venturing alone into the Snowy Mountains to track wild horses.

The ‘capable hiker’ was found after a fortnight by a mountain ranger, who say her lying on a isolated trail where temperatures have dropped to freezing at night.

She was treated for a rolled ankle and dehydration, and remains in ‘reasonable condition’ in hospital.

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