Ettrema Gorge Bushwalkers Rescued
The Royal Australian Navy’s contracted Aviation Search and Rescue provider, OPSTAR, conducted a Defence Assistance to the Civil Community (DACC) tasking, successfully retrieving two bushwalkers who had gotten into trouble in the Ettrema Gorge Wilderness Area in Morton National Park.
The two bushwalkers have been credited by OPSTAR Managing Director John Giffard for their thorough planning, telling their plan to a responsible person and carrying a GPS fitted Personal Locator Beacon (PLB). He said, “their thorough planning meant that we had them recovered and in the hands of our paramedic within 75 minutes.”
He added, “this event is a timely reminder to always carry a GPS fitted PLB when in remote areas and know when to use it.”
OPSTAR has been contracted to the Department of Defence to provide Search and Rescue for the aviation operations of the Royal Australian Navy’s Fleet Air Arm at HMAS Albatross near Nowra, New South Wales, since 2016.
Media Contact
N: John Giffard
T: Managing Director
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