Simpson Desert Claims Another Victim

Just read this also on the news wire.
Amazed that this still happens after all the previous similar incidents, particularly by what I assume to be experienced station hands.
Very sad.

Since I have posted this sad story, I can now add this link:


Simpson Desert Death


Cheers


Stephen

Here is a link to the ABC Queensland news

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-07/25yo-man-dies-of-thirst-in-outback-queensland/4357380?section=qld

tragic news indeed.

Very tragic, Stephen.

While I don't know anymore than what's in the news article, the sad result is probably the accumulation of a number of "mistakes".

It's easy to be blase about a walk home, when you're only 16 clicks from the station, but ground temperatures would have been far in excess of the ambient temps. Not enough drinking water, and even the wrong hat, baseball caps instead of an Akubra or other broad brimmed hat, can make a huge difference.

One could question whether they had any communication, as UHF should work well over that distance, unless they were caught behind a high sandhill.

With WHS on the case, I wouldn't like to be the person in charge there!!!

Bob.

Hi Stephen

If thats the way is was it seems incredible that one wouldn't, as a minimum , wait till the heat of the day was over to do the walk.

Most unfortunate and sad Stephen. One can only wonder how this could have occurred.
Despite the obvious lack of effective communications and drinking water, it does again highlight the need to stay with the vehicle.

Ethabuka was a station west of Boulia, now a reserve owned by the group Bush Heritage Australia who maintain a number of such reserves. Here is a link to the Ethabuka website.

It is a most unfortunate tragedy. I’m very sorry for his family.
I can understand why it probably happened.
Those young man went to work on bore…plenty of water there……
It is only relatively “short” distance from homestead, and they most likely made this trip many times with no problem and no radio or any other communication ……..
It will be very hard for the co-worker/ friend to live with this tragedy.

Hoo Roo Dana

Very sad indeed, especially as he was working to preserve and repair the environment that claimed him.

Latest info from Courier Mail

Latest info

This comes back to the golden rules of survival that have been hammered for years

Jack Absalom was very stern about these recomendations in his books and videos back in the 80's.......he accompanied his recomendations with one completly preventable tragic story after another............the rules where not new then and people keep hammering them today. with good reason....

I'l hammer them again, and encourage you all to do likewise at every opportunity it may prevent someone dying needlessly.

1. Do not go anywhere without a more than adequate supply of water.

2. Do not over exert yourself in the heat of the day.

3. Stay with the vehicle if you cant get it going

4. If you must travel on foot do it in the cool of the evening, night or very early morning.

5. Have a good hat and wear it.

6. Of course tell someone where you are going and when you plan to be back.

I make no opologies whatsoever for this post.

A great many people have died needlessly because they have failed to follow these simple and easily lived with rules.

If I was a staton boss, I would insist that every vehicle carried at least 20 litres of drinking water at all times.

If these guys would have stayed put preferably under some sort of shade, they may have been thursty, but they would be alive...someone would have come looking if they where not home for their tucker.

If they had waited till late afternoon to walk the 4 hours home they would probably still be alive.

A good hat may have even saved the the bloke that died.

very sad.

cheers

This is a tragedy and I would like to tell all of an experience we had that was damned good to be a "witness" to.

On our recent trip though the Simpson we were allowed to drive through a huge, I mean BIG, cattle station near the edge of the desert. Normally its "stay out" but I convinced the owners that we would not be a problem. And we weren't. During our time on the property we had their repeater on the UHF. At one stage a couple of the hands were getting ready for a drive to do some maintenance, The boss was adamant that they went through everything that they had in the ute. They called out what they had and in the end he said "I know you blokes have been here for years but don't take chances. Put another spare in the back". The list went from first aid, clothing through food, water to emergency comms, fuel and tools.

We were doubly impressed when we met them. These blokes looked as if they had "lived" there for decades. Not kids on a work study etc. Just the way they talked and held themselves said heaps. They knew the area and were damned sure that they would be "back for a beer". "The boss is a pain in the **** but a bloody good bloke to work for". I was happy to tell the "boss" what they said when we finally met them.

Now I know why he quizzed me about ourselves, the car and what we had on board.

Phil

This is the link to the story below.
I cut and pasted it on here in case the paywall stopped people from reading the article.

The Australian Nov 8th 2012


MAINTENANCE contractor Josh Hayes had an estimated half an hour to live when he was found on a lonely outback track, having been forced to leave his mate who died of thirst in the blistering heat.

Tragically, Mauritz Pieterse, 25, would almost certainly have survived had they not broken the "golden rule" of the bush and abandoned their bogged four-wheel drive ute to walk 16km to a homestead on the edge of the Simpson Desert in southwest Queensland.

"They had a full fuel tank, they could have sat in the ute in the air-conditioning, listening to the radio until someone turned up," said neighbour Greg Woods, who found Pieterse's body late on Monday night and saved a severely dehydrated Mr Hayes.

"They broke the golden rule. They never had enough water and they walked away from the vehicle.

"It was just a bad decision and it turned out to be the ultimate price."
Mr Hayes, 30, a contractor, was last night in a stable condition in Mount Isa Hospital and declined interview requests.

He and Pieterse, a South African-born former Queensland government wildlife ranger, set out on Monday on what was supposed to be a "10-minute" routine maintenance job on a bore in the southern reaches of Ethabuka Station, a pastoral property converted to private nature reserve by non-profit conservationist organisation Bush Heritage Australia.

At the time their ute became bogged on Monday, the temperature had hit 47C in the desolate locality near Bedourie, 1600km west of Brisbane, way beyond mobile phone coverage.

To make matters worse, they were surrounded by 30m-tall spinifex-covered sandhills that are believed to have blocked the ute's in-built UHF radio's signal.

They decided to walk to the homestead, less than 16km north, and 140km northwest of the nearest town, Bedourie, but never arrived.

Police say Pieterse "became thirsty and stopped to rest" and Mr Hayes struggled on.

When the pair failed to return home, a workmate raised the alarm and Mr Woods, an experienced bushman who manages neighbouring grazing property Carlo Station, drove through the night, scouring the remote and dusty bush tracks in the still-sweltering evening, but it was too late to save Pieterse.

"I came across Mo first, and he was finished; he had collapsed in the middle of the road . . . about 11km from the homestead," Mr Woods said.
He discovered Mr Hayes further down the track: weak, disoriented and still insistent on saving his mate.

"Josh didn't know anything about (Mo's death), he had told Mo he'd come back and get him when he reached the homestead," Mr Woods said.

"Another half an hour further and Josh would've been gone, he was that close.

"I chucked him in the shower and cooled him down, giving him sips of water."

Pieterse had worked at Bush Heritage Australia's twin Simpson Desert properties -- which cover about 500,000 hectares -- for more than a year.

Just last week, he visited the Victorian head office for safety training

Pieterse's grieving family last night described him as a "gentle giant".

"He was the best son ever," his mother Geraldine Pieterse told The Courier-Mail from her home in Western Australia.

Police will prepare a report for the Coroner and workplace health and safety officials are investigating.

From a newspaper report:

Greg Woods, from neighbouring Carlo Station, set out shortly before dark. Even at that late hour, the heat from the sand is so intense that driving through the dunes comes with a high risk.
He found Mr Pieterse's body about 11.30pm on a bush track.
"I found Mo's hat and shirt and car keys where he'd dropped them and I came across him a bit further down the track, but he was finished," he said.
"You get so hot once you get overheated like that you can't think straight and you don't know what you're doing – a lot of people who perish do strip off.
"I was more wild with him for doing it than I was bloody sad for him. I thought he had more bloody sense than that, but anyway that's the way it turned out."
Mr Woods retraced his tracks and found Mr Hayes - who had been wearing only thongs, a singlet and no hat - a short time later.
"He'd been curled up under a bush, so I didn't see him when I drove past the first time" he said. "He ran out behind me, he said, then stayed on the track in case I came back."
Mr Woods said he was in a pitiful condition and near death.


Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/desert-death-the-mind-does-pretty-funny-things-20121107-28yh3.html#ixzz2BaQ2LNEp

Many questions............not many answers yet.

It is so easy to become complacent with what should have been a quick trip. In flat country you would just about be able to see the homestead from 16km.

Just ask yourself if you would set off an EPIRB if you were not injured and only bogged your car and you just about see home 16km away.

Also wondering if they were on the booze the night before which may have impared their judgement and contributed to their dehydration.

As anyone who has worked in 50+ degree heat will tell you it is an effort just to remember to drink enough water. Heat like that starts to play with your mind. Your brain feels like it is being boiled in blood and rational thought becomes almost impossible. Keeping yourself hydrated is of course No1 priority but not exerting your body during the hottest time of day can be the difference between death and survival.

What a tragedy for those men and particularly the family of the deceased.


Pop

Earlier today I caught an ABC interview with outback survival expert Bob Cooper. He was being asked about outback survival in general and made some very interesting remarks. When asked about the most basic things to have with you he offered just two, water and matches. Water is obvious but he said that with matches you are able to light a fire and by burning the vehicle tyres attract attention. To be honest, I had not thought of burning tyres. He also said that whilst electronic devices, satphones, radio and PLB's, were useful they should not be depended upon due to the possibility of damage or electrical failure.

Although Bob was not discussing the recent incident particularly, he obviously was in possession of more information than has been published and did say that the two men were found on another track from the one that they were expected to be on. This explains to me the reason that they were not found earlier when Bush Heritage staff from Ethabuka homestead initially searched.

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The Fatal decision