Hero firefighter leads rescue of volcano crater-fall woman

John Conway, who was on holiday on the Indonesian island of Bali, was on an early-morning trek to the top of Mount Batur when the drama unfolded.

The firefighter, 33, was recovering from the ascent and preparing to enjoy the spectacular views when he heard that the woman had fallen from a viewing platform into the crater.

Speaking from the island, he said: “I explained I was a firefighter and trauma-trained, and directed down into the crater where there were about four or five other people already with the woman.

“She was clearly in a very bad way. She was bleeding a lot and turning blue. I found out there was no air ambulance and the first aid supplies were really poor. All I had to use were some wet wipes, tissues and tape.”

He worked for around 30 minutes to stem the woman’s bleeding before being joined in the crater by a nurse who was also on the trek. He also asked people to take off their shirts and coats to keep the casualty warm, and kept pinching her arm to keep her conscious.

Other trekkers then helped to form a human chain, using a stretcher fetched from further down the volcano to raise the injured woman out of the crater. They then faced a race against time to get the patient to an ambulance at the bottom of the 5,600ft volcano, taking it in turns in groups to carry her.

Mr Conway said: "She was obviously in severe pain and the nurse and I were worried she might have spinal injuries but she never once complained. We paused every 10 minutes so the nurse and I could speak to her and stop her losing consciousness.”

After five hours, they reached the ambulance – an estate car with just a driver and no paramedics – and learned that the nearest hospital was another two hours away.

The firefighter, from Highgate Station in Birmingham, accompanied her on the journey, crouched in the back of the vehicle until they got to the hospital where the nurse was able to brief staff. The woman's injuries included several broken bones and ribs, a fractured spine, a serious head injury and a broken nose.

Mr Conway, who is due to fly back to Britain this week, said: "Given the state in which we found her, and the extent of her injuries, it’s a miracle she survived. It’s unbelievable.

"She’s still in hospital but she’s managed to get thanks to me for what we were able to do. We’ll be keeping in touch but the important thing for now is that she gets well and flies home as soon as she can."

His watch commander Chris Gauntlett praised his remarkable actions. "I’m not at all surprised to hear that he did everything he could to help this young woman.

"All of our firefighters are trauma-trained, and John is among those who take part in competitive challenges against other fire stations and brigades to hone their skills. It sounds like he certainly put those skills into practice and has proved that we’re never really off duty, even on holiday."

He added they were now looking forward to welcoming him back to the station.