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Dropped iPhone leads to Australian woman being stuck upside down between boulders for hours

Woman trapped looking for dropped iPhone. Image source: NSW Ambulance

What started as a hike in the New South Wales Hunter Valley led to a woman becoming wedged upside down between boulders for seven hours, after she tried to retrieve a dropped iPhone.

A 23-year-old woman named Matilda Campbell was hiking with her friends at a place called Laguna, in the New South Wales Hunter Valley. As she was taking photos with her iPhone, she dropped it and the iPhone slipped down into a crevice.

According to a report from ABC Newcastle, Campbell fell nearly 10 feet, ending up suspended upside down by her feet caught between large boulders. Her friends couldn't free her from her predicament, so emergency services were contacted.

It took multiple first responders from Cessnock Volunteer Rescue Association and Rural Fire Services to get her free. Only after removing seven large boulders weighing up to 1,000 pounds apiece were the rescuers able to free Campbell.

Following the ordeal, Campbell's injuries list included a cracked vertebra as well as scrapes and bruises.

Campell is an iPhone user based on social media account posts, adds MacRumos. However the iPhone itself was never retrieved.

"You guys are literally lifesavers. too bad about the phone though," Campbell said in a post to the NSW Ambulance group.



4 Comments

DAalseth 6 Years · 3067 comments

It’s easy to laugh, but honestly I can see how it could happen to anyone. Drop the phone. Scramble down to see if you can find it. Slip. There you are. 

AppleZulu 8 Years · 2205 comments

Well, there's a scary story picked up because of a keyword search.

motoman2wh3 12 Years · 15 comments

Here's an argument for a case with a lanyard! (Maybe such already exists? I've been very 'basic' in choice of cases but I'd get one!)

(This case is nearly as sad as the ones--yes unfortunately plural--of the poor folks who fall off cliffs or high outcroppings taking a darn selfie...)

dewme 10 Years · 5775 comments

AppleZulu said:
Well, there's a scary story picked up because of a keyword search.

Yup. If it was an Android phone nobody would be talking about it. There’s been a few of these “Apple Involved” stories of late where the connection is so very very thin. Maybe Apple will release a new color option on a current product or change another Lighting equipped product to USB-C so we can comment about something Apple does that’s “really meaty.” Still, I’d rather read these articles than watch anything on TV right now.