A woman named Matilda Campbell endured a dramatic seven-hour ordeal after becoming stuck upside down in a three-metre crevice while attempting to retrieve her mobile phone. Despite the intense challenges faced during the rescue, she emerged with only minor injuries.
Hiker Rescued After Getting Trapped Upside Down While Retrieving Phone
Hiker Rescued After Getting Trapped Upside Down While Retrieving Phone
A young woman's adventurous hike turns into a seven-hour rescue operation in New South Wales after she becomes trapped between boulders.
A young woman was rescued after being trapped upside down between boulders while hiking in New South Wales, Australia, earlier this month. Reports identify her as Matilda Campbell, who slipped into a three-metre crevice while reaching for her mobile phone, initiating a lengthy seven-hour rescue operation.
Emergency services faced significant challenges as they worked to free her, including the need to move various large boulders. After managing to lift a 500kg (1,100lb) rock from her path, rescuers still confronted the complicated task of navigating the "S" bend shape in which she had become ensnared. Peter Watts, a paramedic with the NSW Ambulance service, reflected on the unprecedented rescue, stating, "In my 10 years as a rescue paramedic, I had never encountered a job quite like this; it was challenging but incredibly rewarding."
Matilda had been left in a precarious position for over an hour before relief arrived, and initial efforts by her friends to extricate her had proven unsuccessful. Social media photographs released by the ambulance service captured the dramatic scene, showcasing her hanging securely between the two large boulders while emergency personnel diligently stabilized the area.
Upon reflecting on her rescue later in an interview with Australia's ABC, Mr. Watts described Matilda as a "trooper," expressing astonishment at how she found herself in such a predicament. Remarkably, she escaped with only minor bruises and scratches. However, her endeavor to retrieve her phone was unsuccessful. After her rescue, Matilda expressed her gratitude through a social media message, thanking the team who saved her, while also lamenting the loss of her phone: "Thank you to the team who saved me; you guys are literally lifesavers. Too bad about the phone tho."
