Eurobodalla cliff rescue
- Australian SES crews executed a three‑hour rescue of a family of seven clinging to a 40m cliff as tide rose. - Rescuers used an Arizona Vortex frame and wind‑aware techniques to extract four adults and three children safely. - Video and posts show high‑risk tidal timing and complex rope‑rescue coordination during the operation (x.com).
Seven people, including three children, were hauled to safety after becoming stranded on a cliff ledge near Durras on New South Wales’ South Coast as surf rose below them. (region.com.au) The group was trapped near the North Head campground, south of Durras, on Sunday morning, April 19, after walking at the base of the cliffs and getting cut off by high tide and a large swell. They climbed to a ledge about 10 metres above the water and called for help at about 9 a.m. (region.com.au) New South Wales State Emergency Service crews from Batemans Bay and Moruya arrived about 11 a.m. and spent more than three hours extracting the four adults and three children one at a time. Ambulance paramedics checked the group afterward, and reports said there were no serious injuries. (region.com.au, thenewdaily.com.au) The rescue changed course when a helicopter lift was ruled out at the scene. Eurobodalla commander Peter Collins said the aircraft could not safely winch people from the ledge because rotor wash and sea conditions made the attempt too dangerous. (region.com.au, thenewdaily.com.au) Instead, rescuers used vertical rope techniques from the cliff top. Collins said crews lowered an experienced rescuer about 40 metres down the face, organized the group on the ledge, and hauled each person back up in sequence. (thenewdaily.com.au, region.com.au) An Arizona Vortex is the metal frame often used for that kind of job: a portable overhead anchor that lifts ropes clear of cliff edges so the line does not grind across rock. Its manufacturer describes it as an “artificial high directional” built for cliffs, confined spaces and other edge rescues. (cmcpro.com) Collins said one young girl went up first after spending about three hours wet on the ledge and showing signs of mild hypothermia. He said the rest of the group stayed calm, but turned “white-knuckled” once the hauling began. (region.com.au, thenewdaily.com.au) The operation unfolded on a stretch of coast where access at the waterline can disappear quickly when swell and tide combine against the cliffs. Collins said the group appeared to have been walking below the cliff face when “extremely high tides” and large southerly swells cut off their route back. (region.com.au) By the end, the family was back on top of the headland, cold and scraped but safe. The images from Durras show how little room rescuers had between the cliff wall, the rope line and the waves below. (thenewdaily.com.au, x.com)
