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Woman wedged upside down between rocks for 7 hours after trying to retrieve her phone

Updated: 22-10-2024, 08.28 AM

A woman who tried to retrieve her lost phone from between boulders in Australia’s Hunter Valley became stuck upside down for seven hours before she was rescued earlier this month.

Just the bare soles of the woman’s feet can be seen in photos of the incident posted on social media Monday by the New South Wales (NSW) Ambulance service.

The woman had been walking with friends on a private property in Laguna, a country town in the Hunter Valley about 120 kilometers (75 miles) from Sydney, when she dropped her phone.

Somehow, as she tried to retrieve it, she slipped face-first into a 3-meter (about 10 feet) crevice between two large boulders.

The 23-year-old had been walking with friends when she dropped her phone between rocks. - NSW Ambulance — The 23-year-old had been walking with friends when she dropped her phone between rocks. – NSW Ambulance

Her friends tried for an hour to free her, according to the NSW Ambulance service, but eventually gave up and called for help.

NSW Police said emergency services were called at 9:30 a.m. on October 12 about a 23-year-old woman who had become trapped while attempting to retrieve a cellphone.

For the next seven hours, police, ambulance, fire and volunteer rescue crews tried to free her, police said in a statement.

Several heavy boulders were removed to create a safe access point, then rescuers built a frame to perform what was becoming a very delicate operation, they added.

Rescuers had to remove several large boulders to get close enough to her feet to pull her out. - NSW Ambulance — Rescuers had to remove several large boulders to get close enough to her feet to pull her out. – NSW Ambulance

“With both feet now accessible, the team faced the challenge of navigating the patient out through a tight ‘S’ bend over the course of an hour,” NSW Ambulance shared in a post on Facebook.

A winch was used to move a 500-kilogram (1,100-pound) boulder to free the woman, and she was finally released at around 4:30 p.m. the same day.

Miraculously, she escaped with only minor scratches and bruising.

Peter Watts, NSW Ambulance specialist rescue paramedic, said he’d never seen anything like it.

The rescue effort involved multiple emergency teams from police, fire and ambulance services. - NSW Ambulance — The rescue effort involved multiple emergency teams from police, fire and ambulance services. – NSW Ambulance

“In my 10 years as a rescue paramedic I had never encountered a job quite like this, it was challenging but incredibly rewarding,” Watts said. “Every agency had a role, and we all worked incredibly well together to achieve a good outcome for the patient.”

The woman, whose name has not been made public, was taken to the hospital for observation. Her phone, however, remains trapped between the rocks.

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