Boy rescued after falling down a remote gorge in the Karijini National Park
Emergency services rushed to Dales Gorge at Juna Downs, about 1380km north of Perth, at 11.40am on Tuesday following reports a child had fallen.
When crews arrived, it took several hours for volunteers from the Tom Price SES and Bush Fire Brigade to retrieve the boy.
A Department of Fire and Emergency Services spokesman said he was in the hands of paramedics about 2.45pm.
St John WA rushed the boy to Tom Price Hospital, it is believed he suffered non-life threatening injuries.
Karijini National Park is located in the Pilbara and is a popular tourist destination that attracts more than 650,000 visitors each year, mostly through April to October.
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ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Indonesian working holiday-makers' road deaths prompt calls for action
Read the story in Bahasa Indonesia Indonesian Robby Yahya Bachtiar was excited to come to Australia and live with his sister Armitha Safitri. But Mr Bachtiar's anticipation turned to devastation when Ms Safitri, known to her friends as Mitha, was killed by a car crash. "It hit me hard," Mr Bachtiar told the ABC. His parents were traumatised by Ms Safitri's death in 2023, and for a time refused to let Mr Bachtiar go to Australia out of fear for his safety. "They only had one child left," Mr Bachtiar explained. "They still post stories and talk about Mitha to remember her." Ms Safitri was on a work and holiday visa and had been packing oranges in a regional town in South Australia. She hit a ute while driving on the Karoonda Highway. An email from SA police provided to Mr Bachtiar and shared with the ABC said Ms Safitri "made a mistake while driving and that mistake resulted in her losing control of the vehicle". Mr Bachtiar said his sister did not have much driving experience at the time of the crash. Mr Bachtiar called on Australian governments to "tighten" drivers licence rules for international visitors. Even though there are fewer requirements to obtain a drivers licence in Indonesia, Indonesian visitors can still drive in Australia using their overseas licence. How long they can use an international licence, and other rules including what tests they need to do to get a local licence, varies between the states and territories. At least nine Indonesians died and 10 were injured in road crashes in 2023 and 2024, Indonesia's Foreign Affairs Ministry told ABC Indonesia. All were on work and holiday visas. They included Sophie Florence and David Lim, who were killed in a crash in New South Wales, and Rosanti Dwi Septiyani and Fina Febriyanti, who were killed in a crash in Western Australia. This year, at least two more Indonesians on work and holiday visas have been injured in two non-fatal car crashes. The road crashes occurred as the number of Indonesians coming to Australia on work and holiday visas dramatically increased after the Australian government upped the visa quota for Indonesians in 2020. Road accidents have deeply affected the Indonesian community both in Australia and abroad, prompting calls for better support for working holiday visa holders who need transport to work. Migrant Workers Centre chief executive Matt Kunkel said road safety issues impacted many temporary visa holders, and the risks of driving were especially high for those employed in agriculture and regional jobs. "No-one should lose their life getting to work," Mr Kunkel said. All the fatal crashes involving Indonesians since 2023 are still before the courts or being investigated by coroners with findings not yet made public — except for one. In 2024, Lius Chandra was sentenced to an 18-month community corrections order over a crash near Gunnedah in New South Wales in December 2023. He had pleaded guilty to three counts of negligent driving occasioning death and one charge of causing grievous bodily harm. Chandra was driving four friends to work at a poultry farm in NSW in the early morning when he overcorrected on a wet road. Three of the passengers died. The female passenger and Chandra were injured but survived. All were on work and holiday visas. The "horrific and tragic" crash was captured on dash-cam footage by a driver travelling in the opposite direction, the Gunnedah Local Court heard. A statement of facts tendered in court said Chandra held an international drivers licence at the time of the crash. Magistrate Mal Macpherson said during sentencing that the deaths of Chandra's friends would "remain with him for the rest of his life". In a statement to the ABC, Chandra urged fellow Indonesians to be careful on Australian roads, particularly if they were driving at high speed in wet conditions. "Slippery roads at high speeds are very dangerous," he said. "We must be careful by reducing speed, maintaining a distance from the vehicle in front, and avoiding sudden movements." Gunnedah Multicultural Women's Association president Lisanty Evans, who is Indonesian, supported Chandra in court and the victims' families after the crash. Along with the Indonesian consulate, the association recently held a seminar for the multicultural community in Tamworth that included a session on road safety. "We've always seen the need of educating about driving in the region because in Gunnedah itself there are also a lot of migrants," she said. Ms Evans said people who came to Australia should "adapt to the rules and regulations here". But she said employers should also run orientation programs, which include driving-safety information, for overseas workers. As an alternative, employers could arrange carpools or other transportation for their workers, she said. National Farmers Federation president David Jochinke said the farm sector relied on overseas workers, including people on working holiday maker visas. "Any death is a tragedy, and we feel for affected friends and families overseas who lose loved ones far from home," Mr Jochinke said. Mr Jochinke said it was common for employers, labour-hire firms and accommodation providers to offer transport for migrant and Australian workers in regional areas, where public transport was non-existent. "Many workers, however, will prefer to use their own transport," he said. The Department of Home Affairs granted 234,556 working holiday maker visas from July 2023 to the end of June 2024. However, a lack of data makes it difficult to get a complete picture of how many people on working holiday visas are dying in road crashes in Australia. Multiple federal government departments and authorities, including Home Affairs and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT), said they did not collect or hold data on the deaths of working holiday visa holders in Australia. According to DFAT, the authorities that register deaths in Australia — such as police or coroners — inform the relevant embassies or consulates. National Transport Research Organisation safety expert David McTiernan said there was no national approach or data collected on how many drivers were using international licences. "So, we are not able to quantify a crash rate that might inform how common a problem international licensed drivers might represent compared to the general population," he said. "Understanding the country of origin of drivers licences involved in road crashes would certainly provide valuable insight to where Australia might need to focus its efforts to improve road safety outcomes," he added. In South Australia, an Indonesian driver involved in a fatal crash in 2023 is currently facing court. Ari Hasan Asyari had worked an overnight shift cleaning a meat processing factory in the Adelaide Hills, and later that morning began to drive three other Indonesians home. A police statement issued at the time said the car veered off the road at 9:30am and hit a tree. One passenger was killed. Asyari pleaded guilty to two aggravated counts of driving a motor vehicle without due care. A third charge was withdrawn. He remains on bail and will face court again in September. Asyari and two passengers, including Naufal Hisyam, survived the crash. Mr Hisyam, who now lives with a physical disability, is back in Indonesia in the care of his mother, Teti Ofianti. "He was full of ideas, but not anymore. He is more passive now," Ms Ofianti said. Indonesian drivers needed to be more careful when driving on Australian roads and not be "too confident", she said. "I hope there will be no other victims aside from Naufal," she said. Berry Lukman from the Indonesia Diaspora Network in South Australia was working at the meat factory when the crash occurred and liaised with many working holiday visa holders in his role. "I often asked [visa holders], 'Why do you dare to drive?' [They say] because they have no choice. "To work this job, they need a vehicle," said Mr Lukman, who no longer works at the factory. Mr Lukman added that Indonesian drivers often did not understand Australian road terrain and dangers. University of Sydney migration and labour market researcher Chris Wright said research he had done with colleagues showed there was a lack of infrastructure, including transportation, in areas that relied on the working holiday-maker visa program. "That therefore requires an assurance that those people have the capabilities to be able to handle Australia's often pretty hairy roads in regional areas," he said. Professor Wright said the original purpose of the working holiday-maker visa program was cultural exchange, but the scheme had changed since 2005 and become a "de facto work visa". Home Affairs Department data showed 4,578 first-time work and holiday visas were granted to Indonesians between 2023 and 2024. In that same year, 3,578 Indonesians were granted a second visa, meaning that group had completed at least an 88-day stint working in a regional area. Several Indonesian community members told the ABC many workers did not have insurance when they arrived in Australia and suggested insurance should be mandatory for work and holiday visa holders. Indonesia's ambassador to Australia, Siswo Pramono, said mandatory insurance as a visa condition had been raised during consultations with the Australian government. "At the Indonesian embassy, on our website, there are instructions on what driving in Australia is like, and we urge [drivers] to switch to a local driving licence as soon as possible," Mr Pramono added. Low salaries and the cost of living in Indonesia mean Mr Bachtiar still wants to come to Australia on a work and holiday visa. He said he planned to drive but since his sister's death he was now focused on getting more driving experience. "My parents had held me back, but it wasn't until the end of last year that they went, 'It's OK if you want to go,'" he said. "My parents gave their blessings."
The Australian
20 hours ago
- The Australian
Seven hikers saved in Kosciuszko alpine rescue
A massive six-hour rescue operation has saved a group of hikers who were stranded in heavy snow in NSW's Snowy Mountains. The group of seven hikers activated a personal locator beacon (PLB) around 1.15pm on Saturday along a trek in the Kosciuszko National Park. Police, SES and NSW ambulance were part of the rescue team. The group, who were aged from 21 to 48, was found at about 7pm. They had reportedly become disoriented after a sudden change in weather on their hike. They were all assessed by paramedics at the scene and treated for exposure to the cold. The group were then taken to Thredbo Village using a specialised Snowcat vehicle. Seven people have been rescued overnight after becoming stranded in heavy snow while hiking in Kosciuszko National Park. Monaro Police say having a Personal Locator Beacon enabled a rapid, targeted deployment. Picture: NSW Police Monaro Police District Commander Detective Acting Superintendent Keith Price urged hikers to look for weather alerts before embarking on any treks. 'Activating the PLB meant rescuers had a precise location as well as information about the stranded group, enabling the appropriate resources to be deployed more quickly,' he said. 'Even experienced hikers with the right gear can be impacted by sudden weather changes and our advice to all hikers in the Alpine area is to always check for weather alerts, plan your route carefully, and take a PLB.' The Dead Horse Gap hike is considered one of the more accessible treks in the Thredbo region. It is a mostly downhill 10km circuit that takes hikers from the top of the Kosciuszko Chairlift to Dead Horse Gap. Read related topics: Weather Brendan Kearns Cadet Journalist Brendan Kearns is a cadet journalist with News Corp Australia. He has written for The Australian, the Herald Sun, the Geelong Advertiser, CHOICE, Cosmos, and The Citizen. He won Democracy's Watchdogs' Student Award for Investigative Journalism 2024 and hosted the third season of award-winning podcast Uncurated. He studied as Master of Journalism at The University of Melbourne, before that he worked as a video producer and disability worker. @brendandkearns Brendan Kearns
News.com.au
21 hours ago
- News.com.au
Seven hikers saved in Kosciuszko alpine rescue
A massive six-hour rescue operation has saved a group of hikers who were stranded in heavy snow in NSW's Snowy Mountains. The group of seven hikers activated a personal locator beacon (PLB) around 1.15pm on Saturday along a trek in the Kosciuszko National Park. Police, SES and NSW ambulance were part of the rescue team. The group, who were aged from 21 to 48, was found at about 7pm. They had reportedly become disoriented after a sudden change in weather on their hike. They were all assessed by paramedics at the scene and treated for exposure to the cold. The group were then taken to Thredbo Village using a specialised Snowcat vehicle. Monaro Police District Commander Detective Acting Superintendent Keith Price urged hikers to look for weather alerts before embarking on any treks. 'Activating the PLB meant rescuers had a precise location as well as information about the stranded group, enabling the appropriate resources to be deployed more quickly,' he said. 'Even experienced hikers with the right gear can be impacted by sudden weather changes and our advice to all hikers in the Alpine area is to always check for weather alerts, plan your route carefully, and take a PLB.' The Dead Horse Gap hike is considered one of the more accessible treks in the Thredbo region. It is a mostly downhill 10km circuit that takes hikers from the top of the Kosciuszko Chairlift to Dead Horse Gap.
