TWO abseilers spent seven hours stranded halfway up the 160 metre cliff face of Gerringong Falls late Sunday afternoon.
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An adventurous Sunday quickly turned sour when three International Students from Sydney became stuck on a ledge on Gerringong Falls in the Budderoo National Park on Jamberoo Mountain.
State Emergency Services were alerted at about 6pm and arrived at the scene soon after.
After a four-hour rescue effort the abseilers reached the ground and were shaken but uninjured.
NSW SES spokesman Andrew McCullough said the abseilers were not properly prepared for the drop.
“They were trying to abseil over the waterfall- a 160 metre cliff - and they only had a short rope which didn’t reach the bottom,” he said.
“They managed to make it to a ledge about halfway down and they were sitting there for about seven hours.
“A third person was at the top of the waterfall and abseiled down to try and rescue them but it failed and he phoned 000.”
Thirteen SES crew members, two police rescue officers, ambulance paramedics and a national park and wildlife service ranger worked until 10.30pm to rescue the trio.
“The park ranger and police rescue walked to the bottom of the waterfall and managed to make contact with the stranded abseilers who were 60 metres up from the ground and other crews stayed at the top,” the spokesperson said.
“An SES member abseiled over the edge and we were able to set up a rope system and safely lower them to the bottom of the canyon.
“They were pretty shaken up and it definitely wasn’t what they were expecting .”
Mr McCullough said it was a reminder to anyone planning to venture into remote areas to be prepared.
“Make sure you know your skill level, have the right equipment, have notified a family member about where you’re going and have a backup in place, such as an EPIRB,” he said.