An injured Victorian bushwalker was at the door of a rescue helicopter after being winched almost 30 metres when things went wrong and he fell to his death.
The man had been hiking through a heavily bushed part of Victoria northeast of Melbourne when he broke his ankle on Saturday morning.
An air ambulance was dispatched, but the man never made it on board.
The incident has prompted a suspension of winching operations by Ambulance Victoria helicopters while an investigation is carried out.
Ambulance Victoria chief executive Greg Sassella said the man was at the door of the helicopter and the crew were attempting to get him inside when he fell.
The helicopter was hovering almost 30 metres off the ground during what was considered to be "a fairly standard winch," he said.
"The flight crew and the paramedic winched back down to the scene to attempt to resuscitate the patient but unfortunately he was beyond help."
He said that while it was very difficult to have a person extricated from the type of bush the man and his fellow bushwalkers were in, flying conditions were good.
"Once we understand what occurred and whether there's equipment involved or not, that suspension may be lifted," Mr Sassella said.
"It is a high risk environment and we must make sure that we understand what happened before we resume winching again."
