Tourist Loses Leg in Wild Kayaking Accident in Australia

australia - A tourist lost one of his legs during a wild kayaking trip in Australia after colliding with a group of rocks. The tragic incident occurred in Tasmania's Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park.

A tourist lost one of his legs during a wild kayaking trip in Australia after colliding with a group of rocks. The incident took place on the Franklin River in the Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park in Tasmania. The man, in his sixties, got stuck in rapids with a group of other kayakers on Friday around 2:30 PM local time. What followed was a 20-hour nightmare, according to local media.

At 3:30 PM, authorities received a distress signal from his Garmin smartwatch and rescue teams were dispatched. They found him trapped between rocks with his leg, but it was extremely difficult to carry out a rescue operation at that location. After several failed attempts, a decision was made out of desperation to amputate his leg on-site. Due to being partially submerged in water for hours, rescuers began to fear for his life.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Doug Oosterloo of Tasmania Police stated, 'This rescue operation was an extremely challenging and technical operation, an incredible effort over many hours to save the man's life. Every effort was made to extract the man before the difficult decision was made to amputate his leg.'

The man remains in critical condition at the hospital. His family has been informed of the accident. The man's nationality is still unknown.