Lithuanian kayaker rescued in Tasmania after a 20-hour rescue ordeal, leading to leg amputation

A 65-year-old Lithuanian man was rescued by Tasmania paramedics after he was stuck between the rocks in the Franklin River, which led to the amputation of his leg. The man is currently in a critical condition at the hospital.

The kayaker remained partially submerged in the water in remote southwest Tasmania after he slipped and got his leg trapped for over 20 hours on Friday (Nov 22). The man has rafting experience of over five decades and was part of an 11-member international rafting trip along the remote river when the incident occurred.

When the medical emergency responders were not able to free the man despite several attempts, the decision was made to amputate his leg at the knee. He was airlifted and taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital on Saturday (Nov 25).

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The ‘worst case scenario’

Tasmanian intensive care workers, specialist retrieval doctors, and flight paramedics rushed to the aid of the man.

The rescue team said, “This rescue was the worst-case scenario of worst-case scenarios.”

The man spoke little English, which made the situation even more difficult. The rescuers were able to communicate with the man with the help of a Lithuanian doctor, who was on the trip with the man and acted as a translator.

“We couldn't actually take his mind off the situation and talk to him about his family or, you know, his trips that he's done, so that was really hard,” said Ace Petrie, a Swift water rescue technician with Surf Life Saving Tasmania. He was one of the first persons to arrive at the scene.

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Intensive flight care paramedic Mitch Parkinson explained it was necessary to keep the risk of hypothermia away as the man was submerged in the fast-flowing water.

"Our efforts were to keep him warm as best as possible, acknowledging that he's in a torrent of water, and to keep him fed and watered as much as we could," he said.

"What I saw was an exceptionally strong and robust man that had maintained that through the night into the morning," Parkinson added.

(With inputs from agencies)