Nethercote Falls accident: Reports two people fell 15 metres, hospitalised

Snowy Hydro SouthCare Helicopter was tasked to the site around 5pm Wednesday, with reports two people had fallen 15 metres and sustained injuries.

NSW Ambulance also attended, reporting a man in his mid-20s had sustained head injuries and a woman also in her mid-20s was complaining of pelvic and lower back pain.

Both were transported to The Canberra Hospital in a stable condition and as of Thursday were still patients there.

Bega Volunteer Rescue Association members also responded to assist NSW Ambulance, as did SES units Bega and Eden, local RFS brigades and Fire and Rescue Merimbula.

Nethercote Falls has been closed to public access since August 2015 after Forestry NSW locked the gates to the road from the picnic area to the falls track.

The decision was made due to a number of incidents at the falls, but at the time was met with criticism from many in the community.

While Forestry NSW at the time acknowledged people would still be able to walk to the falls, it said it would no longer promote the site as a tourist destination and did not want to see people there.

The area has been a popular spot for locals in the summer months but there have been some serious accidents at the site. In March 2013, Amalia Plevey was rescued by her school friend, Cooper Woods, after she fell from rocks around the Nethercote Falls and hit her head. Cooper was named National Child of Courage at the National Pride of Australia awards in Sydney later that year for his actions at the time.

In December 2013 four young locals were involved in a serious accident on the Nethercote Falls Link Road when the car they were travelling in lost control on a bend in the unsealed road and hit a tree. At the time police said the four aged between 15 and 18, from Merimbula, Tathra and Bega, were lucky to have escaped death.

In 2015 Bega Valley Shire Council rangers, Merimbula Fire Brigade and a local SES team were called to Nethercote Falls after a dog had managed to get itself stuck on the cliff face.