Boy airlifted after 10m fall at Amalia Gorge in East Kimberley, undergoes surgery for severe leg injury

A 12-year-old boy was rescued after falling 10m while hiking at Amalia Gorge between El Questro and Emma Gorge in the East Kimberley on Thursday. Emergency services were alerted to the incident at Amalia Gorge between El Questro and Emma Gorge about 2.30pm, with a coordinated rescue effort involving Kununurra State Emergency Service volunteers, St John Ambulance, Kununurra-based helicopter company HeliSpirit and staff from the El Questro Emma Gorge resort. The boy, who sustained a leg injury in the fall, was swiftly flown to Kununurra Hospital, arriving at 5.45pm where he underwent surgery on his leg which was broken in three places. The boy was flown to Perth Children’s Hospital on Friday morning where he will undergo further treatment for his injuries. The boy’s father Andy Gibson said his son was doing well considering the fall. “(He) was put under for an operation last night which stabilised a severely broken leg in three places and straight through the growth plates. He was air transported to Perth Children’s Hospital this morning for a surgeon to complete the next steps ASAP,” he said. “Yesterday’s effort to get him out of the gorge was truly amazing to witness and our family is so grateful to the whole team from El Questro, SES, St John’s and the paramedics and everyone else that helped. “Huge thank you to Matt from HeliSpirit for getting Sam to the hospital in amazing time, we understand it would have been five to six hours longer without your skills and would have ended up being a night rescue in the dark, so a massive thank you.”