Hopes fade on Franklin
DAMIEN BROWN
January 11, 2009 02:00am
SEARCHERS hold little hope of finding alive an Indian soldier who fell from his kayak on the Franklin River.
He was swept under rapids on Friday at The Cauldron, described by river guides as an unforgiving section of the iconic south-west Tasmanian river.
The 23-year-old soldier was on the fifth day of a military training exercise with four of his army colleagues and some Australian troops.
Tasmania Police inspector Brian Edmonds has urged all rafters to be on the lookout for the missing man.
"Police are continuing to work closely with the Australian Defence Force and will continue the search operation over the weekend," Insp Edmonds said last night.
"Police would like to request all rafters and kayakers intending to commence a trip on the Franklin River to be aware that the search is under way and to report anything of interest to police at Rafters Basin."
Extensive air and land searches in the remote and rugged South-West have so far failed to find any trace of the soldier since the accident on Friday at 2pm.
The man and his army colleagues were travelling with a group of 10 Australian soldiers, including some believed to be from the Anglesea Barracks in Hobart.
An air search was conducted until light faded on Friday and search and rescue crews were in the air again just after 9am yesterday.
Expert kayakers Adrian Marmion and Cameron Folder were flown into the gorge in the World Heritage area and yesterday travelled the river in search of the man.
The rest of the army crew are expected to be transported out of the area today. A Defence Force spokeswoman said no Australian troops had been injured and the group had remained at the scene to assist police.
She said the Indian Embassy had been notified and the remaining Indian troops would be transported out of the remote area today.
The rafting group told police the soldier's kayak had tipped in a rapid and pulled him under the water.
When he did not emerge, his friends searched the area and the riverbank but did not find him.
The remaining rafters and a police rescue helicopter searched the river between Rafters Basin and the Great Ravine early yesterday and in the afternoon.
Search and Rescue Squad sergeant Nick Preshaw said the area was treacherous and difficult to access.
He said it was a steep gorge with very rough rapids.
The Franklin River is an internationally recognised destination for rafters in the World Heritage Area.
Rafting Tasmania spokesman Graham Mitchell said the river was full of rafters at this time of the year.
In fact, one of his tour groups was having lunch half-a-kilometre away from where the man was last seen.
"It is very common for groups such as the military to be conducting training exercises in this area," Mr Mitchell said.
"But let me tell you, it is a place of serious consequence if you are not careful."
Mr Mitchell is well aware of that. He held the hand of fellow river guide and friend Julian Webber who drowned in front of him at The Cauldron in 1985.
Mr Webber's foot became stuck under a rock and the force of the river made it impossible to save him.
It was that incident at The Cauldron that inspired the acclaimed Richard Flanagan novel Death of a River Guide.
"Once you are stuck, there is nothing you can do and I think the chances of finding this man alive are very slim," Mr Mitchell said.
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