A 57-year-old man was trapped by the leg and suspended under a tree for more than two hours while emergency crews and CareFlight’s medical team worked together to safely extricate him this afternoon.
A tree fell on top the man’s leg, pinning him to a second tree limb, where the tree lopper had been positioned to cut branches.
CareFlight’s rapid response rescue helicopter landed in Mt Ku-ring-gai public school’s grounds shortly before 130pm, about 200 metres from the scene.
The man was initially suspended about two metres off the ground with the crush injury.
NSW Fire & Rescue crews and NSW Ambulance crews stabilised the man, erecting a wooden platform beneath him with a stretcher put in place to support his body.
CareFlight’s specialist doctor and critical care paramedic climbed up beside the patient, providing pain medication and intravenous fluids at the scene.
The medical team continued closely monitoring the patient’s condition as Fire & Rescue crews worked to remove branches using chainsaws and hydraulic equipment to prise the tree free.
He was taken by road, accompanied by CareFlight’s medical crew, to Royal North Shore Hospital in a stable condition to undergo further treatment, including for a fractures to the left leg.
