- Geoff Pinch sustained second degree burns after slipping into the Artesian bore
- His friend, Nigel, pulled him from the sizzling water and activated a beacon
- The Royal Flying Doctor Service met them and set up a makeshift ER
- Up to 30 people worked to save Mr Pinch, who spent five months in a burns unit
A man who fell into a boiling hot spring while hiking in the Simpson Desert thought he was going to die in the moments after being submerged in the 90 degree water.
Geoff Pinch could have lost his life if it weren’t for the quick thinking of his friend, Nigel, who accompanied him on the walk in Queensland’s outback.
He sustained second degree burns to 80 per cent of his body after slipping into the sizzling Artesian bore and being left with no choice but to sink to the bottom.
Geoff Pinch (pictured) fell into a boiling hot spring while hiking in the Simpson Desert with his friend, Nigel, who’s quick thinking ended up saving his life
‘There wasn’t anything I could do until I reached the bottom and then push myself up and Nigel grabbed me and he got me out,’ Mr Pinch told Yahoo7.
As his body rapidly began to shut down, Nigel stripped his friend’s clothes off and activated a beacon which alerted emergency crews.
They traveled an hour by car as Mr Pinch drifted in and out of consciousness until they reached the Mungerannie Hotel, where the Royal Flying Doctor Service met them and set up a makeshift ER on the veranda.
Up to 30 people worked to save Mr Pinch, according to Nigel, with him eventually stable enough to be flown to Adelaide where he spent five months recovering.
Mr Pinch drifted in and out of consciousness until they reached the Mungerannie Hotel, where the Royal Flying Doctor Service met them and set up a makeshift ER on the veranda (pictured)
‘I just thought my time was up, I don’t know what else to say. I was just trying to hang in there,’ he said.
Mr Pinch remained in Royal Adelaide’s burns unit in excruciating pain while his wounds healed, but said if it weren’t for his friend, he wouldn’t be alive.
‘He (Nigel) definitely saved me.’
The survivor has since learned to walk again, but will forever live with burn scars – a permanent reminder of his horrifying near-death experience.
Mr Pinch sustained second degree burns to 80 per cent of his body after slipping into the sizzling Artesian bore (pictured) and being left with no choice but to sink to the bottom
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