Ten people airlifted from bushfire blaze
RACQ CQ Rescue airlifted a total of 10 people away from an intense bushfire in Queensland, Australia.
RACQ CQ Rescue airlifted a total of 10 people away from an intense bushfire in Queensland, Australia. The team was dispatched around 17:00 hrs on 30 November after the fires reached the mountain-top village of Eungella. With fires blocking the main road, authorities made the decision that a helicopter rescue would be the safest way to evacuate those trapped.
When the team arrived, they found 10 people stranded – including one infant, five small children, two teenagers and two adults. The critical care paramedic and rescue crew officer then took one adult and three of the young children to the safety of the showgrounds at Finch Hatton. It then returned, taking onboard the remaining six people.
“The RACQ CQ Rescue crew witnessed an incredible act of selflessness as a man and woman at the scene, believed to be Eungella residents and rural firefighters, opted to have their family, one of which was a baby, board the aircraft and be evacuated while they stayed behind on the mountain to continue to fight the fires on the range,” a RACQ CQ media release stated.
In total, the rescue took a total of one hour and 15 minutes. None of those trapped were harmed or required medical treatment.
Authorities in the impacted areas of the Gladstone, Bundaberg and Rockhampton regions are setting up community recovery centres for those displaced by the blaze and firefighters are tackling the blaze.
“We have 25 appliances, we have two fixed wing aircraft and we have a large air tanker which has also done one drop, word is at the moment that drop was successful, so we have a lot of crews on site in defensive mode protecting that community at the moment,” said Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) state co-ordinator Gary McCormack.