Chopper rescue for missing bushwalker

A MAN missing since Wednesday afternoon while climbing Mount Cooroora, near Pomona, has been winched to safety by the Sunshine Coast RACQ CareFlight Rescue helicopter today.
For the RACQ Rescue helicopter it was the crew’s second search and rescue mission in under 24 hours, this time successfully conducting a winch rescue of a missing bushwalker from the heavily forested Mount Cooroora.
Shortly before 11am today, the Maroochydore-based rescue helicopter was tasked by the Queensland Police Service to help find a 67-year-old man, who had been missing since late Wednesday afternoon.
Following a search of the area, the man was located about two-thirds of the way up the mountain, stranded on the north face.
Due to steep, rocky terrain, a paramedic was lowered down to the bushwalker, who was then winched back into the helicopter.
The CareFlight medical crew assessed the condition of the man on-site, before transferring him on to Nambour General Hospital for further observation. He travelled in a stable condition.
The rescue follows an extensive sea and air search on Wednesday for a man overboard from a commercial ship near Fraser Island.
The Sunshine Coast RACQ CareFlight Rescue helicopter was tasked to join the search co-ordinated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) shortly before 10am Wednesday morning.
The crew initially completed a sweep of an assigned 100 nautical mile area, but there was no sign of the man.
The helicopter then returned to base to refuel and re-joined the search at 2pm. AMSA concluded the search for the man at last light Wednesday afternoon.