Trapped in Rapids for Nearly a Day, Rafter Lives to Tell the Tale
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In 2024, Lithuanian rafter Valdas Bieliauskas was trapped in Australia’s Franklin River for nearly 20 hours. His leg was wedged between rocks in freezing rapids, requiring an underwater amputation by a rescue doctor. Despite cardiac arrest during evacuation, he survived thanks to hypothermia and advanced CPR. Now recovering with a prosthetic leg, he plans to finish the journey in 2026. His story highlights extreme survival, medical heroism, and the resilience of the human spirit.
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Valdas Bieliauskas, a 66-year-old Lithuanian adventurer, found himself in icy cold water after his leg became stuck in a narrow gap between boulders in Australia’s powerful Franklin River.
While navigating the rugged gorge in November 2024, he fell while hopping from one boulder to another. His leg got lodged so tightly that neither ropes, pulleys, nor brute force from his fellow rafters could free him. As hypothermia began to set in, they used a satellite phone to call for help, marking the beginning of an almost 20-hour rescue ordeal.
When the rescuers—paramedics, police, doctors, and swift-water teams—arrived, they tried airbags, hydraulic spreaders, drilled tripods, and pulley systems to free him, but all efforts failed. The raging rapids, moving at 13 tons per second, and the narrow crevice prevented any progress.
Holding on When Survival Feels Impossible
Despite his weakened state, Bieliauskas stayed calm. His thick wetsuit and life jacket helped keep hypothermia at bay for a few hours, and his companions gave him hot food and drinks every half hour.
But the prolonged exposure to water at 8-10°C was too much. As night fell and his condition worsened, the rescue team faced a grim decision: to save Bieliauskas, they had to amputate his trapped leg immediately.
A Decision No One Wanted to Make
At 4 a.m., the medical team, after a thorough assessment and a difficult consultation with Bieliauskas (via fellow Lithuanian rafter Arvydas Rudokas, acting as translator), confirmed that there was no alternative. Staying in place would mean certain death.
Bieliauskas hesitated, asking if the plan would leave him disabled. Rudokas reassured him that it was the only way to keep him alive.
As the rescue team prepared for the water amputation, the first doctor slipped on a rock and broke his wrist, delaying the critical operation. A second doctor, Dr. Jorian “Jo” Kippax was airlifted in hours later.
Once Bieliauskas was sedated with ketamine, Kippax carried out the risky amputation relying only on his touch underwater. A ratchet strap served as a tourniquet to control bleeding. In just two minutes—feeling like hours—Bieliauskas was free. No bleeding, no fainting.
From Riverbed to Rehabilitation
Bieliauskas suffered cardiac arrest while being airlifted to the hospital. Ironically, hypothermia, which slowed his body’s functions, saved him from cardiac arrest and allowed for successful resuscitation. He was on mechanical CPR for nearly 90 minutes until ECMO (heart-lung bypass) was available.
After four days in a coma, he woke up—an event that the rescue and medical teams and friends had desperately hoped for.
After the whole ordeal, Bieliauskas realized that survival matters most. He told ABC News Australia that the greatest joy was simply that he survived. Losing his leg wasn’t a concern. “The main thing is being alive, and life is a beautiful thing.”
In January 2025, he continued his recovery in Lithuania, supported by his family, medical staff, and the Lithuanian community in Vilnius. He learned to walk again on crutches and later with a prosthetic leg.
Completing an Unfinished Mission
Bieliauskas plans to return to the Franklin River in 2026 to complete the adventure interrupted by his accident. He’s unsure if anyone has rafted with a prosthetic before, but he’s ready to be the first.
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