By Cam Lucadou-Wells
Dandenong CFA’s technical rescue crew has helped save a kelpie from 20 metres down a disused mine shaft at Smith’s Gully.
The crew with help from Plenty CFA and Victorian SES lifted Mac the kelpie safely out in a harness about 2.30pm on 4 September.
Mac was apparently trapped since 8am. Crews were called to the shaft about noon, assessed the scene before starting the 30-minute rescue.
According to a Facebook post by CFA Technical Rescue, rescuers faced several fallen tree branches as well as a possibly unstable rock slab at the site.
So crews opted for a vertical rope extrication system as the safest option.
Happily, Mac was virtually unscathed – but for a bloodshot eye.
'Mac' the dog got more than he bargained for on his morning walk, when he fell into a disused mine. #7News pic.twitter.com/z736gpjBOs
— 7 News Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) September 4, 2018
