An injured dirt bike rider benefited from the expert coordination of Victoria’s emergency services earlier this month, after becoming stranded on the scrub-choked slopes of Enfield State Park, about 30 kilometres south of Ballarat.
The man, in his 40s, collided with a tree in steep terrain on 6 August, suffering a lower leg fracture and sparking a complex multi-agency rescue operation over several hours involving specialist aeromedical and road paramedics from Ambulance Victoria, Babcock Australasia, Victoria Police, VICSES and Fire Rescue Victoria.
Muddy tracks, bogged vehicles, and dense bushland made locating the rider difficult, with VICSES volunteers having to rig rope lines to steady their descent through the slippery gullies during their bid to find the injured rider. Police eventually pinpointed his location by asking him to rev his motorbike engine, following the sound through the scrub.
With a foot evacuation projected to take more than five hours in tricky conditions, air extraction became the only safe option. Babcock’s helicopter crew – Pilot Chris Sherwood and Aircrew Officer Nick Giblin – were airborne from Essendon within minutes, carrying Air Ambulance Victoria paramedic Jake Kilsby—who, following extensive training, would perform his first-ever operational winch task.
Unable to land amongst the 20-metre-high tree canopy, Chris and Nick identified a narrow four-metre gap near the accident site. Jake was winched down with a stretcher to stabilise the patient, while the helicopter briefly landed on a nearby ridge to conserve fuel. The final winch—lifting both patient and paramedic—demanded pinpoint accuracy to clear the two-metre-wide stretcher safely through trunks and branches.
Once onboard, the rider was flown to a nearby airfield and then transported by road ambulance to Ballarat Base Hospital for further treatment.
“This rescue certainly had its complexities due to the terrain,” Nick said. “We train continuously for precision winch jobs involving stretchers, and that day we saw pilot skill, winch-operator focus and MICA Flight Paramedic care come together perfectly – backed by crucial support from agencies on the ground. It was a great example of multi-agency teamwork.”