A woman is tonight recovering after a dramatic overnight rescue in Central Australia. Emergency crews trekked for hours to locate the hiker near Hugh Gorge on the Larapinta Trail, the isolated location and challenging terrain making the operation especially difficult.
00:00A team effort over rough terrain to stretcher an injured hiker back to safety.
00:08You're going from walking through water, waist deep at times, to climbing and going over boulders to Sandy Pass, so it does vary quite a fair bit.
00:17The challenging rescue triggered after a woman injured herself on the notorious terrain of the West McDonnell Ranges.
00:24A helicopter was dispatched carrying a paramedic and a police officer, but it couldn't land near the woman because the terrain was too uneven.
00:34Running out of light, a rescue crew hiked for kilometres to treat her broken ankle, before camping overnight on the trail.
00:42It was cold, it was windy, it was dark, but as I said, we're well equipped for that sort of conditions for the night.
00:47A larger retrieval crew set out first thing today, before the hiker emerged from the trail, assisted by police, paramedics, park rangers and emergency services.
00:58She's going to be in a bit of pain for quite some time, but she's in good spirits and her morale was pretty good given the circumstances.
01:07An emergency beacon, a lifesaver in this situation.
01:11The biggest thing that rescued her was her emergency beacon, which she activated early.
01:15And a timely reminder for those heading out.
01:19For starters, register with the Parks and Wildlife, tell your friends what you're doing and how long you're going to be,
01:24and take a satellite communication device, such as an EPIRB or a personal locator device, so you can activate this in cases of emergency.
01:32The woman was taken to Alice Springs Hospital and is recovering.
