Members in the Westpac Rescue Helicopter have located an injured 74-year-old man from West Launceston who activated a personal locator beacon (PLB) in the Walls of Jerusalem National Park this morning.
Other walkers carrying the PLB came across the injured man and offered assistance leaving him with the device until help arrived.
The man suffered an injured knee and was unable to walk out unassisted. His wife, who had been walking with him in the park, left and returned to the car to raise the alarm. This was prior to other walkers assisting with a PLB and then continuing their walk. The man was airlifted back to his car.
Of note the rescue crew had difficulty locating the man because of a weak and inaccurate position signal given by the PLB. This is believed to be because the battery on the PLB had expired in 2017. This is a timely reminder, especially coming into the warmer months, to check that all emergency equipment including PLBs, EPIRBS and flares are not outside of their expiry dates prior to embarking on your activity.
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