On Friday 27th May 2022 shortly after 7 am a Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) occurred at Horizontal Falls, a famous tourist spot located in Talbot Bay, approximately 100 km north-west of Derby in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. This is a remote and difficult to access location; tourists are usually transported by float plane from Derby or Broome, and the distance from Broome (where regional health, emergency and RFDS services are located ) is approximately 250 km as the crow flies. There is no road access.
A speedboat filled with tourists sustained a high-speed collision with a rock wall whilst on a tour to see the falls. 28 persons were on the boat, 26 paying passengers and 2 crew. All passengers and crew sustained injuries of varying severity, with 24 requiring hospitalisation, 9 of whom were non-ambulant stretcher cases with multiple injuries. A total of thirteen patients required transfer to and management by the State Trauma Service (STS) in Perth, some 1900 km from the incident site. All casualties were cleared from the site and the forward command post before nightfall, and 11 patients were transferred to the STS in Perth on the same day, with two further patients being transferred subsequently after staging in Broome Hospital.
The nature of the incident, remoteness of the location and difficulty in access presented significant logistical, operational, clinical and aviation challenges. A multi-agency response was mounted and casualties were moved on a variety of platforms, including float planes, helicopter and RFDS PC 12 turboprop and PC 24 jet aircraft. The incident has valuable lessons for those involved in disaster response, primary evacuation and pre-hospital and retrieval medicine.’
Biographies:
Natalie Saunders:
Natalie is a Flight nurse/midwife for RFDS Western Ops based in Broome for past 10 months, she has been a Flight nurse for RFDS in Alice Springs prior to moving to Broome and a registered Nurse for 16 years, primarily ED and rural & remote nursing.
Rachel Climpson:
I am a registered nurse and midwife, I have been a nurse for 13 years with a background in Emergency. I’ve worked for RFDS Western Ops for just over 6 years in both Port Hedland and Broome.
I have undertaken further postgrad study in aeromedical retrieval, maternal critical care and emergency nursing.
Dr Sally Edmonds:
I am a Medical Officer with the Royal Flying Doctor Service, Western Operations, Broome Base.
I have worked with the RFDS in WA for more than 25 years, including in Aeromedical retrieval, remote clinics and senior management roles. I originally trained as a General Practitioner, and hold postgraduate diplomas in Anaesthetics, Obstetrics, and Medical Administration.
I still love a challenge and an adventure, whether it’s leisure or work. My “happy place” is the back of an aircraft, whether small or large, heading somewhere new, to an unknown situation, with a great team of people.