A young man lost

That's Dane Kowalski right? I've been following that story and had seen on FB that his body had been found but had at the time I didn't get any details so thanks very much for posting the story. Such a terribly sad tragedy.

But this just goes to show how easy it for your life to be in serious jeopardy when bad luck strikes. The real tragedy is that no one knew where to look for him. If he had been using a tracking service such as EOTrackMe then his position would be available to family and authorities to easily location him.

I urge all Members to ensure they activate their free EOTrackMe service even if for the unlikely event of a personal mishap such as this.

I think you probably mean the vehicle isn't a 4x4. As you can't see under the tonneau and have no idea what's in the cab, no telling what he has in there. Not everybody carries their hi lifts, ramps, shovels, winches etc, where all can see. You are probably right, but I think it probably wise to wait until the police and coroner's reports are released.

What newspaper was the article in?

"Looking at the photos of the vehicle, he was not in the slightest way prepared for travelling in the desert alone"
That's a bit rough isn't it?
Sounds to me more like bad luck than bad preparation......could have happened to anyone..........

Hi Louwai

Yes a vet sad way to alone like that. One question that no one has asked, is why was he 6 kilometres from the Stuart Highway and bogged where he was. All of the station tracks on Ingomar Station are hard packed gibber roads and there is a main track into the station to the homestead ( homestead about 40 km west of the highway) and then a very good dirt road from the homestead to Coober Pedy, which was once part of the original Stuart Highway.

Thoughts to his family.


Cheers


Stephen

Yeah, was thinking about this a fair bit today, a bad series of events for the young fella, and so many little things that could have prevented his passing away out there.

A mobile with Telstra coverage MAY have had reception near the highway, but a UHF most likely would have been able to reach (most reports I have read put him 4km off the Stuart, possibly to get away from the highway for a sleep ?).
As mentioned, a spot or other such tracker, or ciggy packet size PLB would have alerted to an emergency, and provided searchers with a precise position.

If Dane had a suitable fist aid kit, and known how to do pressure immobilisation on the snake bite, he WOULD have survived.
The only people to die from snake bite in Aust have not done the right (or any) first aid, or been highly allergic to the toxin (very rare).

We don't know if he had enough water to sit it out quietly for a few days, but if so, he could have survived even an Eastern Brown, Mulga (King Brown) or even an Inland Taipan bite using the right techniques and remaining calm.

Such a tragic waste of a young life, and VERY similar location to another that went missing and perished in mid 2011, this was another Vic fella but travelling from Darwin to Ballarat Vic.

I feel so for the mother especially, she has been through a lot reading the news articles.

Very sad result. We may never know why he ventured off the highway and if he was bitten by an inland Taipan not sure what would have saved him being so far away. Reported as the world's most venomous snake he would have needed urgent medical attention and anti-venom. Certainly shows that a simple wrong turn along with very bad luck can suddenly put you in a life threatening scenario. I guess as far as taking on the outback you can never be too prepared, better phone coverage would be a great start.!

Condolences to Dane and his family, by all reports a very nice bloke.

Let's not all get carried away with what might have been, he should have done this, he should have done that..

How many deaths by snake bite are there really? One bloke out of a population of 24 million or so (with respect).

There is chance of death around every corner if you're not looking.

No need to lobby the regulators just yet. This is not a common occurrence.

Cheers
Alan

No disrespect to the family of Dane, but given this discussion about snakes it seems a timely opportunity to talk about snake bite treatment/safety advice and I'd like to refer your attention to our article - Snake Bite Treatment

Most snake venom reaches the blood stream via the lymphatic system. Research has shown that very little venom reaches the circulation, even after several hours, if the Pressure Immobilisation Technique is applied immediately and maintained.

At the 2010 ExplorOz National Gathering, our guests were treated to a workshop by snake expert and outback survival instructor Bob Cooper who has incredible real-life experiences. The article I've linked above summarises the technique he demonstrated at the workshop and has been compiled with his (and the RFDS) recommendations. If you read this article you'll note there is some linked Forum Posts in the Discussion tab at the bottom from 2012 that debates the specific Pressure Immobilisation Technique (PIT) suggested in the article, and upon reading that post again today (Thread 98984, I followed some of the suggested links from those posters. The main authority quoted was the ARC (Australia Resuscitation Council) guidelines for Pressure Immobilisation Technique (Guideline 9.4.8). If you read this you'll actually see that it in fact agrees with the techniques outline in our article. Some quotes from the ARC guidelines:

"There is insufficient evidence to determine which technique or method of bandage application is most effective in the field"... "Furthermore
whilst commencing the encircling bandage distally and moving proximally may improve
comfort and tolerance of the bandage, it may act to increase venom movement. Starting proximally and working distally may further minimise venom movement but may cause distal oedema /fluid retention and make the bandage too uncomfortable for prolonged use. Training (using manometer feedback) has been shown to improve the pressure achieved with PIT, and the use of elasticised bandages may also improve the pressure obtained in PIT application." in minimizing venom absorption.

Attendees at Bob's snake workshop might recall that he discussed this too. The ARC guidelines also confirm the advice in our article about using elastic bandages and where to start the bandaging. "If on a limb, apply a broad pressure bandage over the bite site as soon as possible.. Elasticised bandages (10-15cm wide) are preferred over crepe bandages, if neither are available, clothing or other material should be used."

But don't get caught up on the bandaging technique - its the immobilisation that is the critical component to staying alive. You must keep the victim and limb completely at rest.

Again quoted from the ARC "Bring transport to the victim if possible. If they are unable to obtain urgent help to come to them, then apply local pressure if possible,
immobilisation is contraindicated and they should move themselves to seek urgent help".

Furthermore, all snake bites should be considered venomous. Some bite victims do not immediately present with symptoms and unfortunately some have "walked" a short distance to get help and have died as a result.

As the circumstances are all too real for many in our audience it serves as a reminder that we must be vigilant of outback travel risks and always think through worst case scenarios. We should always be considering our risks and refreshing our first aid skills.

My most sincere condolences to Dane's family.