By Mitchell Clarke
A teenage boy was “extremely lucky” to survive a 10 metre cliff jump into an old and abandoned quarry in Harkaway.
Emergency services were called to the former Hanson Quarry site on Noack Road on Monday afternoon, 2 November, following reports that a boy needed to be rescued.
The 15-year-old boy, who was swimming at the private property with a group of mates, is understood to have landed on his back.
Neighbours to the site were forced to use a bolt cutter to open the gate to allow emergency services to enter.
Narre Warren SES duty officer Dianne Markham said four volunteers, led by Tony Jackson, were able to bring the boy to safety in about 20 minutes.
Crews were forced to transport a wheelbarrow-like device down a steep crevice to reach the boy.
“He was just laying there, he was talking and remained lucid the whole time, but I presume he was in a lot of pain,” Ms Markham explained.
He sustained upper body injuries and was taken to the Royal Children’s Hospital in a stable condition, an Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman said.
But Ms Markham said the young boy was “extremely lucky” to avoid more serious injuries.
“Most definitely, it could have been a lot worse. He was really lucky, his number wasn’t up at all,” she said.
Ms Markham said the incident served as a reminder that people should never swim at or jump into unauthorised locations, especially in bodies of water with an unknown depth.
Neighbour Greg Pargeter said the “huge parcel of land” had often attracted people into the site.
“There’s been some security upgrades but it’s still pretty easy for foot traffic to get in,” he said.
“The attraction is the fact it’s secluded, so if you know your way around and can get through the fences, you’ve got this huge parcel of land.
“But it is a big body of water, which is very deep and it is potentially dangerous, and as we’ve seen here, getting access to the site posed some problems for emergency services.”
Mr Pargeter said it’d be great for the site to be transformed into a safe place for the community to enjoy.
“It’s a wonderful resource that has, I guess, been created from quarrying,” he added.
It’s understood the former bluestone quarry site, which has been described as being “bigger than some suburbs” was sold by Barry Plant last year.
