Surfer airlifted to hospital after horror wipe-out on the Gold Coast
A surfer has been airlifted to hospital with suspected spinal injuries after a horror wipe-out at a popular surf break on the Gold Coast.
The man aged in his 30s was surfing at Snapper Rocks at around 9am today when he was wiped out and was speared into a shallow seabank.
Snapper Rocks is a world-renowned point break which attracts large numbers of surfers year-round.
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Fellow surfers helped the man to the shore, where he was treated by paramedics before being carried off the beach on a stretcher. 9News
"It's quite a dumping wave around there at the moment," said local lifesaver Will Ashley.
"We've got a really south swell, so a lot of it is missing the central and northern part of the Gold Coast, but the D-bar that faces the beach picks up a lot of the swell.
"So it's about a four or five foot wave dumping down quite heavily."
Witnesses called emergency services while fellow surfers helped the injured man from the water.
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A Westpac rescue helicopter airlifted the injured man to Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. 9News
He was treated on the beach by paramedics, before being airlifted to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital by a Westpac rescue helicopter for treatment for suspected spinal injuries.
"The message would be to be safe and cautious and never surf alone," Ashley said.
"Always surf with other people, so if something does go wrong, you have got help close by."
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