A MAN had to be airlifted to Westmead Hospital for treatment after spending a night in Kanangra Boyd National Park following a fall while abseiling on Saturday.
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Emergency services say the 37-year-old man had an anaphylactic reaction to a wasp sting while abseiling down a cliff in the national park south of Oberon on Saturday, which led to the fall of about 10 metres.
He was with two women at the time of the fall and police were alerted following the activation of two Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs).
A joint search and rescue operation was launched involving Police Rescue, NSW Ambulance and the NSW State Emergency Service, with paramedics winched by helicopter as other ground crews abseiled down or walked in.
The man was stabilised and treated for bruising and swelling of his head, a fracture to his leg, broken ribs and a collapsed lung but poor weather conditions hampered attempts for a helicopter extraction and a decision was made to suspend the operation.
The rescue team was provided additional resources for an overnight stay and the operation recommenced on Sunday morning.
Craig Gibbons from Oberon SES said they had 10 members at the scene.
"The platform where the man was stabilised was only 1.5 metres wide. It was a dangerous situation," Mr Gibbons said.
"Our members are all trained in vertical rescue. We walked the patient out in two sections. The overall distance was probably 1.5km in extremely steep terrain."
The group walked out about 11am with the assistance of the rescue teams and the man was first taken to Oberon before being airlifted to Westmead Hospital for further treatment.
He was a serious but stable condition.
Mr Gibbons wanted to thank another group of abseilers who were in the same area at the time.
"They reacted quickly to what was happening nearby and skilfully assisted."
Mr Gibbons said after the vertical rescue was completed on Sunday morning another EPIRB had been activated in the Kanangra Boyd National Park at 8.30am.
"We were requested to carry out a land search. We relocated our vehicles and personnel to Moorara Boss Trail off the Kanangra Walls Road," he said.
"We commenced a 4WD search with the assistance of Oberon Rural Fire Service. An injured female had already been located by the Toll ambulance rescue helicopter and shortly after flown to hospital.
"We were assisted by NSW Police and NSW Ambulance Service in the search. It's been an extremely busy weekend."
