Helicopter rescued boy after fall

A teenage boy hiking in the Stirling Ranges was rescued by helicopter after falling 10m and stopping on the edge of a vertical drop.

The 14-year-old boy had been climbing the 1052m Mt Toolbrunup with two friends and their father and was just 40m from the summit when the boy fell about 3.15pm yesterday.

The man called emergency services on his mobile phone after the boy suffered injuries to his knee.

The RAC rescue helicopter arrived at 4.40pm.

Sergeant Mike Russell of Gnowangerup Police said the man and his two sons, aged 14 and 17, managed to trek back down the mountain while the helicopter evacuated the injured teenager.

Early reports that the boy suffered a bee sting were wrong.

“The boy was cut up quite badly, he’d fallen and rolled about 10m,” Sgt Russell said.

“Apparently he stopped just shy of a vertical drop based on what the helicopter pilots (said) when they found him.

“It could have been a lot worse.”

Sgt Russell said Toolbrunup was a heavy climb and stressed the importance of good preparation when hiking in the Stirlings.

“Some people regard Toolbrunup to be harder than Bluff Knoll,” he said.

“Good preparation literally can mean the difference between life and death.”