Horizontal Falls accident: Police investigating cause of Kimberley boating incident

Tourists were pitched into fast-flowing, crocodile-infested waters at Kimberley’s famous Horizontal Falls after a sight-seeing trip went horribly wrong, sparking a major rescue mission to airlift more than a dozen injured people from the remote region. The Falls Express, operated by Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures, was conducting a tour of the natural wonder in Talbot Bay, about 250km north-east of Broome, when it ran into trouble with 26 passengers and two crew on board about 7am on Friday. The hazardous attraction, popular with thrill-seekers, features two narrow, sheer rock gorges on the bay which transform into rapids when water is forced through them with the changing tides. WA Police Regional WA Commander Brad Sorrell said while the circumstances leading up to the incident were still under investigation, several people had been thrown into the water. The age-range of the injured was unknown on Friday night, however, there were no children involved. It is understood several patients have serious, but not life-threatening, injuries. Thirteen patients were expected to land at Jandakot airport tonight to be taken to Royal Perth Hospital for treatment. Commander Sorrell said he could not confirm if the boat capsized, but said early indications were that it “may have”. “We won’t comment on the investigation yet — it’s too early,” he said in a press conference outside Royal Flying Doctor Service headquarters on Friday afternoon. “What we can say is that a number of people did find themselves in the water and a number of people are injured. Our priority was to rescue these people and to coordinate the medical response.” Channel Nine reported that the vessel may have hit a rock. The rescue effort was hampered by the sheer remoteness of the tourist hotspot — which is only accessible via air or boat — and the difficulty of getting information in and out of the area. Meanwhile, charter planes and helicopters in the area were put on standby waiting to transport patients. Commander Sorrell said he understood the tourism operator was able to get the passengers out of the water and onto a pontoon as a priority given there were known to be “crocodiles and box jellyfish” in the water. Some of the injured were then winched from the pontoon onto an aircraft hovering above. Four RFDS aircraft were dispatched to the remote scene with six doctors and six flight nurses onboard in the hours after the call for help was received about 7.15am. The first plane arrived on the scene at 8.30am. A makeshift emergency department was set up on nearby Koolan Island, where Mt Gibson Iron operate a mine, and where patients were triaged according to the seriousness of their injuries. The first of the injured landed about 8pm with five patients on board — three people on stretchers and two seated, while another plane was due to land later carrying three patients on stretchers and two sitting. A third jet was due to land in the early hours of the morning after taking one patient from Koolan Island to Broome and then transferring a further three from Broome to Perth. RFDS general manager operations Damien Whitham said the rescue was a “massive effort”. Earlier in the day, a group of tourists with less serious injuries were taken to Broome by seaplane before being assessed at the local hospital. Mr Whitham said triaging patients and transporting them to care would continue into the night. “The airport at Koolan Island is 24/7 capable and the jets are as well, so the efforts will continue into the evening to make sure the patients receive good flight and down to tertiary care in Perth,” he said. Mr Whitham said RFDS responded to critical incidents every day but this emergency “stands out” in terms of the scale of the operation, which also involved local helicopter services and emergency personnel. An investigation is now underway, involving authorities including police, WorkSafe and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. An AMSA spokesman confirmed in the “multi-agency” probe into the “serious maritime incident” and had issued a “prohibition notice to the domestic commercial vessel”. A prohibition notice “prohibits an activity that the inspector believes involves, or will involve, an immediate threat to the health and safety of any person”. “Two AMSA marine inspectors will be attending the site, about 100km north of Derby, and are expected to arrive tomorrow to commence the investigation,” the authority said. Local detectives are also expected to start taking statements from those currently capable of speaking with police. In a statement on Friday, tour operator Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures said the Falls Express was guided by an experienced skipper when the vessel hit trouble while travelling through the falls. “The vessel immediately returned to the pontoon,” the statement said. “(We) are continuing to liaise with the RFDS and emergency services to manage the incident.” Commander Sorrell said the emergency response was “well coordinated and demonstrated the capability of WA”.