Tasmania's extensive network of search and rescue personnel has been put through its paces at a two-day exercise at Wayatinah Lagoon, in the rugged Central Highlands.
Led by Tasmania Police Search and Rescue, more than 100 people took part in the weekend training exercise which also involved agencies Ambulance Tasmania and Surf Life Saving Tasmania Swift Water Rescue alongside volunteers from State Emergency Service, Mounted Search and Rescue and bushwalking clubs.
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Conditions were challenging, with rolling showers and low temperatures adding another level of complexity to the exercise.
Under the scenario presented by co-ordinators, a man and his elderly father on a fishing trip had been forced to swim for their lives after their boat flipped and sank at Wayatinah Lagoon.
Once ashore, they had become separated in thick bush, with the man raising the alarm via mobile phone that he was lost and could not make his way back to his injured father. Contact was lost soon after.
Tasmania Police Search and Rescue Senior Constable Cameron Rennie said the training exercise involved people from across the state and ensured emergency response teams were prepared for complex and potentially high-risk incidents in rugged and remote environments.
"Today is extremely realistic … we often have protracted searches in Tasmania, we can have up to a week-long search. This is very common to have input from so many different agencies to co-ordinate these searches," he said.
"(This exercise) gives us a chance to test our current understanding of things. To see what's broken, to see what works well.
"It's a chance for agencies to test their people, to test their equipment, so that we have those skills finely tuned for when there is an emergency."
SES Regional Officer North-West Andrew Freeman said more than 40 SES members volunteered their time to take part, undeterred by the challenging weather and rugged terrain.
"The weather today creates its own challenges and as a result of that, it informs how we conduct our searches and helps for the preparation of the members as well, with the types of equipment they carry and use during the day," he said.
All aspects of a search and rescue were tested, providing teams with a valuable assessment of their co-ordination of resources, their planning and execution of skills.
On Saturday, search and rescue teams on foot scoured bushland along Wayatinah Lagoon for several hours, looking for clues that could locate the 'missing' men.
Search teams on horseback were also deployed, a crew in the Westpac Rescue Helicopter executed sweeps of the bush, and police and a Swift Water Rescue team trained for the rescue of a man stranded in a fast-flowing river.
