A major rescue operation brought together dozens of emergency personnel at Barrenjoey Headland on Tuesday afternoon, after two young sightseers stumbled upon an unconscious man with a badly broken leg near the top of the headland.
The couple, both in their 20s, were taking in the views near a stone monument about 150 metres east of Barrenjoey Lighthouse just after 1pm when they came across a man in his 30s who had collapsed and was unresponsive. They called Triple Zero and were able to give operators their precise GPS location — a detail that would prove critical in coordinating what became a complex, multi-agency response.
Reports that the man was experiencing seizures prompted the Toll NSW Ambulance Rescue Helicopter to be dispatched from Bankstown. It arrived overhead shortly after 1.45pm, with the pilot able to spot the injured man from the air, as well as a paramedic who had been ferried up the trail by a Northern Beaches Council Palm Beach lifeguard in an all-terrain vehicle.
Given the difficult terrain, the helicopter crew opted to winch a specialist trauma doctor and critical care paramedic down onto a rocky outcrop close to the patient, before the aircraft landed in a grassy area at the North Palm Beach car park to wait.
On the ground, the medical team found the man in a serious condition — still seizing, with a severely broken left leg. They began emergency treatment to stabilise him, which included placing him into an induced coma. With his condition critical, the team called the helicopter back for an emergency winch extraction directly from the headland rather than attempting to carry him down the trail.
Once stabilised and secured in a rescue litter, the man was winched up to the helicopter alongside the critical care paramedic. The trauma doctor and equipment were then retrieved, and the helicopter made directly for Royal North Shore Hospital, arriving just after 3.15pm with the man in a critical condition.
The response on the ground was substantial. Multiple units from Northern Beaches Police Area Command and Traffic and Highway Patrol Command attended the scene, along with crews from Fire and Rescue NSW at Avalon and Narrabeen stations, Terrey Hills Rural Fire Brigade, and Ingleside Rural Fire Brigade. Four NSW Ambulance crews were involved in the rescue, including Intensive Care Paramedics, NSW Ambulance Inspector Kylie O’Brien, and NSW Ambulance Supervisor Andy Sartor, who brought a newly acquired four-wheel drive transport ambulance from St Ives Ambulance Station. A specialist rescue firefighter also made the climb up to the lighthouse to assist on site.
Rescue crews remained on scene until the paramedic and specialist firefighter who had ascended to the lighthouse had safely returned to the car park with the Northern Beaches Council lifeguard.
The steep and uneven terrain presents obvious challenges for emergency responders, making the co-ordinated use of air and ground resources essential in incidents like Tuesday’s rescue.
Published 4-February-2026
