A 72-year-old woman has been rescued after spending two days stranded at the bottom of a 10-metre embankment in a Cairns conservation park. Paramedics say she is lucky to have been found, as she was in dense scrub near the Green Arrow walking track on Mount Whitfield.
The woman, believed to be on holiday in Far North Queensland, was found by emergency crews on Thursday night after other walkers heard her calls for help and alerted authorities. Critical care paramedic Nathan Cutler expressed surprise that anyone heard her given her remote location.
Rescuers took more than two hours to locate the woman, who had slipped off the marked trail. Due to difficult terrain and fading light, she could not be winched out by helicopter, so crews navigated through the forest to extract her. The ground was unstable, making the rescue effort labor-intensive.
The woman had some food and water but showed signs of exposure. She was taken to Cairns Hospital in stable condition with minor injuries. Acting senior operations supervisor Jay Nevins emphasized the importance of preparation for safety.
The rescue involved a QAS crew, a rescue helicopter, two Queensland Fire and Emergency Services crews, and State Emergency Service staff. Mount Whitfield Conservation Park has four marked trails ranging from 1.5 km to 6 km return.
