The airwing has been kept busy overnight rescuing a man and woman from a 150m high ledge in Werribee Gorge State Park and three children after they became trapped on a riverbank in Glenmaggie.
In the first incident police were called after two hikers, who set out to walk to Falcons Lookout, became stranded on a ledge 150m high about 10.40pm.
The hikers raised the alarm after setting off around 8pm. Police have been told the terrain was precarious with the track at times only 30cm wide with degrading edges.
It appears the pair, a 25-year-old man from Mill Park and a 36-year-old woman from Doncaster, wandered from the main track onto a trail with no handrails and sheer drops unable to find their way back down in the dark and rough terrain.
Local police unsuccessfully attempted to reach the pair by foot before the airwing arrived and winched them, in difficult conditions, to safety.
In the second incident, police have been told the children were staying with family at a Gells Road campground when they launched an inflatable donut into the Macalister river about 7pm.
The inflatable got caught in the flow of the river and was taken down stream and caught on a rock.
The trio, aged 15, 13 and 10-years-old, were all able to climb onto the opposite riverbank.
They walked upstream until they could see their campsite across the water but due to difficult terrain couldn’t leave the area.
Police also couldn’t make their way to the children on foot and family members were unable to reach them due to swift flowing water and slippery rocks.
Local police attended along with the Water Police and Airwing to coordinate the rescue.
All three children, from the South Eastern suburbs of Melbourne, were safely rescued by the airwing and reunited with their families.
No one was injured.
