First responder speaks out after family of 7 rescued from cliff
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Key Points:
- Seven members of a tourist family, including four adults and three children, were rescued from a rocky cliffside in Eurobodalla, New South Wales, after being trapped by rising tides.
- The family became stranded about four hours south of Sydney when the tide cut off their exit during a shoreline hike, forcing them to climb the cliff where they were pinned by waves.
- Rescuers, led by Peter Collins of the New South Wales State Emergency Service, opted for a vertical rescue instead of helicopter extraction due to dangerous rotorwash conditions.
- The three-hour rescue involved lowering responders down the 40-meter cliff to individually haul up each family member, starting with a young girl showing signs of hypothermia.
- Officials noted that if the waves had been just one foot higher, the family could have been swept out to sea, highlighting the severity of the situation.
