Two Bundaberg rescue organisations, VMR Bundaberg and RACQ LifeFlight, have been kept busy attending separate incidents over the weekend.
The Bundaberg-based RACQ LifeFlight rescue helicopter airlifted a motorcyclist to hospital, after he was injured in a collision with a wallaby this morning.
The rider told rescue crew members he was enjoying a motorbike ride alone, south-west of Childers around mid-morning, when the animal jumped directly into his path, causing an unavoidable collision.
After colliding with the wallaby, the motorbike slid a short distance and the rider sustained leg injuries.
The RACQ LifeFlight rescue helicopter pilot landed the aircraft at a clearing close to the crash site, where Queensland Ambulance Service paramedics who had been treating the injured man, then transferred him to the chopper.
The rider, aged in his sixties, was airlifted to Bundaberg Hospital in a stable condition, suffering leg injuries.
Last year was a record year for LifeFlight, with its aeromedical crews, community helicopters and air ambulance jets performing a record 6,508 missions in Queensland and around the world. To support the LifeFlight Foundation visit: here.
Volunteer Marine Rescue help with medivac
On Saturday Volunteer Marine Rescue (VMR) Bundaberg was tasked by the Queensland Police Service to provide assistance to Queensland Ambulance Service to help medivac a crew member from a 275-tonne tug.
The tug was travelling from Townsville to Sydney when the crew member had a medical incident.
The tug diverted to Burnett Heads where the patient transfer took place and the VMR Bundaberg crew were all home and in bed by 2am.
VMR Bundaberg Skipper Erwin with crew of Glenn, Jim, Rod, Cam and paramedic Paul responded to the task, which was non-COVID-19 related, and was completed without incident.
VMR Bundaberg’s Graham Kingston said VMR had been classified as an emergency service within the context of the current COVID-19 pandemic.
He said if VMR was tasked by Queensland Water Police Service for a COVID-19 medivac, the activation would take place with minimum crew, along with a Queensland Ambulance Service paramedic, appropriate PPE, social distancing as much as possible and subsequent decontamination procedures for the vessel.
Graham said public access to the Burnett Heads base facilities had been restricted and fund raising based with social gatherings, such as the VMR Family Fishing Classic, had been suspended.
To find out more about the Bundaberg rescue organisation click here.