It was the high stakes river rescue that made headlines around the world. Now the Lithuanian rafter who underwent a leg amputation to be freed from Tasmanian’s Franklin River, is leaving hospital and heading home.
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00:00A small smile after a huge ordeal.
00:06This is the man who lost his leg in a 20-hour rescue effort to save his life.
00:11The 65-year-old was embarking on a rafting trip on Tasmania's Franklin River last November
00:17when his left leg became trapped in a crevice.
00:21What followed was a harrowing night spent in cold, rushing water before a life-or-death
00:27decision was made to amputate the man's leg.
00:31The rescue, described as one of Tasmania's most complex medical evacuations, involved
00:37more than 30 specialists.
00:40Two months later, the man is headed home to Lithuania.
00:43But not before photographs with those who saved his life.
00:47A fist bump for Constable Tim Donovan, a chat with Ambulance Tasmania's Retrieval Coordinator
00:53Joe Kipax and paramedic Adam Marmian.
00:56And donning the cap of Ace Petrie, a swift water rescue technician with Surf Lifesaving
01:01Tasmania.
01:03The man declined interviews, but the Acting Secretary of Tasmania's Health Department
01:08said he had
01:09experienced a life-changing ordeal in a country far from his home and family, and that he'd
01:15made a steady recovery.
01:17The Lithuanian ambassador to Australia has thanked the emergency personnel who helped
01:21rescue the man, closing one chapter in his tough recovery.