Pilot lucky to survive ultra-light crash - ABC Online

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
Updated January 02, 2012 21:45:29

Emergency officials say the quick action of holiday-makers helped save a pilot who crashed his ultra-light plane into a lake in Victoria's north-east.

The plane crashed about 400 metres from the shore of Lake Hume near Wodonga just before 3.30pm (AEDT).

The pilot in his 60s had taken off from his hometown of Holbrook, north of Albury, earlier in the afternoon.

No-one else was on board the plane.

MICA paramedic Paul Bellman says the man suffered only minor cuts and was conscious when he was pulled from the water.

"I guess any aircraft crash where you can walk away with minor abrasions is a good landing really," he said.

"He was lucky there were police officers and civilians on site that could quickly respond to assist him and get him out of the water as quickly as they did."

Senior Sergeant Garry Corcoran says the man is lucky to be alive.

"A lot of people here are holidaying and making a day of it today," he said.

"They've gone out and assisted the pilot and he's been brought back to land and has gone to Wodonga Hospital for observation.

"Just under the circumstances I'd say being into water and the impact, there would have been some severe injuries, if not death, if it had have happened under other circumstances."

Victoria Police and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority will investigate the cause of the crash.

Topics: disasters-and-accidents, accidents, air-and-space, wodonga-3690, vic, holbrook-2644, nsw

First posted January 02, 2012 18:03:20

View the original article here

No relief as south braces for more extreme heat - ABC Online

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
Updated January 02, 2012 21:49:32

Emergency services are being kept busy in Victoria and South Australia as temperatures remain high through the night, putting fire crews on high alert in parts of both states.

There have been about 100 small fires across Victoria today, as residents sweltered in temperatures as high as 43 degrees in some parts, including at Warrnambool and Port Fairy.

And in South Australia it is the second day temperatures have been in the low 40s. High winds have also sparked fire threats on the state's south coast.

Paramedics have treated more than 35 people who collapsed in the Melbourne heat today; 13 people were seriously affected.

Emergency services were also forced to rescue children locked in two hot vehicles on the Mornington Peninsula.

Weather bureau spokesman James Taylor says the temperature in Melbourne is likely to stay around the mid to late 30s until as late as midnight, but relief is on the way.

"We do have a south-westerly change forecast to move through later tonight," he said.

But the mercury is expected to rise to the mid to high 30s again tomorrow.

Meanwhile, firefighters have used a water-bombing helicopter to contain a blaze south of Rosedale in Gippsland in Victoria's east.

The bushfire is about five hectares in size and moving slowly. No homes are under threat.

This afternoon crews battled two grassfires just outside of Geelong which are no longer posing a threat.

CFA spokesman Steven Warrington says crews have managed to keep on top of the fires, but grass levels are high.

"These are fast-moving, high-impact fires and we need to get on them quite quickly," he said.

In South Australia, authorities shut down power after there were winds of up to 80 kilometres per hour in parts of the south coast.

The power was cut to reduce the risk of fires starting from overheating appliances.

Nearly 3,500 residents on the south coast had to put up with soaring temperatures without air conditioning for a couple of hours, but electricity has almost been fully restored.

ETSA cut power to properties in Middleton, Port Elliot, Victor Harbor and Hindmarsh Island.

ETSA spokesman Paul Roberts says the laws were introduced in response to the Ash Wednesday bushfires.

"It's our role through that legislation really to ensure the safety of the public and property on these sort of days," he said.

Some residents in the affected areas say they were given no warning.

Tags: weather, lifestyle-and-leisure, vic, australia, melbourne-3000, adelaide-5000, sa

First posted January 02, 2012 19:12:48

View the original article here

Online cancer star Kristian Anderson dies - ABC Online

AppId is over the quota
AppId is over the quota
Updated January 02, 2012 21:32:25

Sydney cancer patient Kristian Anderson, made famous by posting an online video tribute to his wife featuring Hugh Jackman and New Zealand's prime minister, has died.

His wife Rachel confirmed Mr Anderson died this morning at Manly Hospital.

"My darling husband went to meet Jesus this morning. It was peaceful and beautiful. Funeral details to come soon," she tweeted on his account.

The 36-year-old from Curl Curl had been having chemotherapy since he was diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer in October 2009.

His touching video clip, which made its way around the internet, was made as a birthday present for his wife and as a thank you for her support.

It featured an introduction by New Zealand prime minster John Key because Rachel is a Kiwi.

Movie star Hugh Jackman also appeared in the video after Mr Anderson asked Triple M presenter Gus Worland for assistance.

The clip had Mr Anderson holding up placards with words of love and support for his wife against the Train song Marry Me.

The clip has been viewed almost 400,000 times and even US talk show queen Oprah Winfrey became a fan.

Winfrey gave the couple $250,000 for medical expenses when she hosted an episode of her show at the Sydney Opera House in January last year.

Thank you for journeying with me this far. I pray you find the same peace I have.

In his last interview Mr Anderson told the Daily Telegraph of his love for his wife and their sons Cody, 5, and Jakob, 3.

"I'm not afraid of dying but I am afraid of leaving them behind," he said early last month.

In his last entry on his blog How The Light Gets In, posted by his wife after his death, Mr Anderson reflected on his battle with cancer.

"The truth being we're all broken, we're all cracked and what so many people see as a fault or a malfunction really is something to be considered useful," he wrote.

"I'm not sure how much longer I have left, but it appears that the physical and medical signs are all pointing to my end.

"Thank you for journeying with me this far. I pray you find the same peace I have."

Bowel Cancer Australia spokesman associate professor Graham Newstead says Mr Anderson's battle with bowel cancer has touched tens of thousands of people.

"Like many people who in some way shared this young man's journey, those involved with Bowel Cancer Australia are saddened by the death of Kristian Anderson," he said in a statement.

"We are however also very grateful to him for his brave and valuable work in raising awareness about bowel cancer."

The disease kills about 4,000 Australians each year.

AAP

Topics: bowel-and-rectal-cancer, health, diseases-and-disorders, sydney-2000, nsw, australia

First posted January 02, 2012 15:36:30

View the original article here