The Bundaberg-based RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter has airlifted an injured man, from a beach south east of Bundaberg, after his leg was seriously slashed by a boat propeller.
The rescue chopper was called at 12:35pm today and landed on the beach near the scene.
The accident reportedly occurred as the victim and his friends were launching a boat from the shore.
The man, aged in his sixties, is believed to have been standing at the rear of the vessel, when the motor started and the propeller caused deep lacerations to his leg.
Rescuers were told the man’s friends reacted quickly, taking a rope from the boat and using it as a tourniquet to attempt to stop the bleeding, until the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) arrived on scene.
The RACQ LifeFlight Rescue QAS Flight Paramedic assisted the ambulance crew to treat the patient.
His friends then helped emergency crews carry him on a stretcher, along the beach, to the waiting chopper.
The injured boatie was airlifted to Bundaberg Hospital, in a serious but stable condition.
