Accident at Western Australia’s Horizontal Falls sees 14 in hospital

An incident involving a tourist boat at Western Australia’s Horizontal Falls on the Kimberley coast has led to the overnight hospitalisation of 14 people.

28 people were on board the tour boat Falls Express yesterday morning when it ran into trouble at the popular tourist attraction - at Talbot Bay about 250 kilometres north-east of Broome - at around 7am in the morning.

Reports suggest that the jet boat overturned with Western Australia Police Regional Commander Brad Sorrell initially advising that it appeared as though several people had been thrown into the water.

Those people who fell in the water, in which box jellyfish and crocodiles lurk, were winched by helicopter from a large pontoon before being flown to a makeshift triage area set up at the nearby Koolan Island iron ore mine.

Five men and seven women aged 46 to 70 were airlifted to metropolitan Perth for treatment overnight and were in a stable condition on Saturday morning, the Royal Perth Hospital advised, while another two patients are in a stable condition at Broome Hospital.

The boat was operated by Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures, a Broome-based tourism company that charges about $1,000 for a scenic flight, Talbot Bay cruise and ride through the falls.

In a statement, the company said the boat was guided by an experienced skipper but was involved in an incident early this morning.

It denied the boat had capsized or any passengers had gone into the water, stating “the vessel did not capsize and no passengers were in the water.

“The boat immediately returned to the pontoon.

“The operator can confirm there were 26 passengers and two crew on board and some guests have sustained injuries. Our team is working with the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) and emergency services who will shortly be landing to provide medical and medevac assistance as required.”

The company has suspended its operations while the investigation by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and WorkSafe get underway.

Horizontal Falls, known as Garaangaddim by traditional owners, is promoted as a ‘natural wonder’ with huge nine-metre tides that surge through narrow cliffs cut into two gorges in the McLarty Ranges. Jet boats ride the ‘horizontal’ rivers created by the fast-moving tides.

Horizontal Falls image courtesy DPAW.