CFA high-angle rescue specialists joined police and SES crews to rescue a woman who had slipped down the cliff at The Pillars, Mt Martha, last week.
Police were called to the incident by the brother of the Mornington woman who reported her missing at the site, 9.30pm, Tuesday 14 August.
Sergeant Dennis Ramsay, of Mornington police, said officers rushed to the scene and spotted the woman’s car parked on the Esplanade. They were forced to slide half-way down the rocky cliff face to find the woman, 37, before “making her safe and secure”.
CFA crews from Mt Martha CFA were able to arrive within minutes after attending a meeting at the station. Other crews from Dromana, Mornington, Hallam, Rowville and the Frankston and Dandenong high angle rescue team were on-scene soon after. They used ropes, harnesses and pulleys in the three-and-a-half-hour operation.
Gusting winds prevented the police helicopter from assisting.
The incident controller, Lieutenant Brandon Crowder, of Mt Martha CFA, praised police for their “heroic” efforts.
“The police did well in taking care of the woman’s wellbeing as best they could and in keeping her safe in the traumatic incident,” he said.
“They then ‘walk-assisted’ her as she was winched up to the road.”
The woman suffered minor injuries and was taken to Frankston Hospital for a medical assessment.
First published in the Mornington News – 21 August 2018
