- A 58-year-old man has suffered severe burns to 80 per cent of his body
- He fell into a near-boiling hot spring while travelling in South Australia desert
- The man was rushed to Royal Adelaide Hospital in a critical condition
- Help given by others may have saved his life as he is now in a stable condition
A man has suffered severe burns to 80 per cent of his body after falling into near-boiling hot water in a remote desert.
A 58-year-old man from Adelaide was travelling in a convoy on the Birdsville Track in northern South Australia on Thursday.
During a stop, he fell into a hot spring outside of Mungerannie, about 800km north of Adelaide.
A man has suffered severe burns to 80 per cent of his body after falling into a hot spring
The 58-year-old man from Adelaide was travelling in a convoy on the Birdsville Track in northern South Australia
A Royal Flying Doctor Service plane was sent to the scene and paramedics spent several hours stabilising the man.
He was flown to Royal Adelaide Hospital in a critical condition. He is now stable in intensive care.
Royal Flying Doctors spokesman Charlie Paterson said the quick thinking of others in the convoy may have saved the man’s life.
‘They withdrew the man immediately and took all his clothes off, which was holding the heat into the body, and then poured cold water all over him.’
Mr Paterson said they did not know why the man fell into the hot springs.
Local tourism operators said the hot spring bores reach temperatures of almost 100C.
A Royal Flying Doctor Service plane was sent to the scene and paramedics spent several hours stabilising the man (stock image)