Cyclist rescued by Victoria Police Air Wing, after trying to ride across the Snowy River at Suggan Buggan

April 6, 2026

A cyclist who tried to ride across the Snowy River at Suggan Buggan in remote far-east Gippsland has been plucked to safety in a dramatic overnight rescue. 

The Victoria Police helicopter was called in to save the 31-year-old cyclist, who was stranded in the river for four hours, clinging to reeds to stay afloat.

Police said the cyclist was competing in an endurance cycling event and got into strife while trying to ride across the river, just before 8pm.

A fellow competitor discovered the stranded cyclist and activated a personal locator beacon, police said, before a helicopter was dispatched and arrived overhead about two hours later.

“Once the [air crew arrived] they identified a second competitor on the riverbank who was flashing a torch,” Victoria Police Acting Senior Sergeant Jim Kincaid said.

“They identified that the male was not going to be able to self-rescue and it was decided to commence an immediate hoist extraction to get him safely out of that area.”

Police said a rescuer was winched down to pluck the cyclist from the water just after midnight. 

The cyclist was taken to hospital for assessment but was uninjured.

Mr Kincaid said that in the “freezing cold conditions” only an air crew could have rescued the cyclist “in a timely fashion”.

“The considerations are that minutes matter, and up there in the High Country we’re already in early autumn, and that person was in the mid to early stages of suffering mild hypothermia and exposure,” he said.

He said the cyclist was also likely to have been low on energy given they were participating in an endurance event.

“The fact that they’ve been in the Snowy River with extremely cold water places an extreme risk and danger should they stay out throughout the night,”

he said.

Mr Kincaid said the cyclist was “very grateful” following the rescue.

“They were very appreciative of being extracted in the middle of the night when they were freezing cold and wondering how long they would be out there,” he said.

“But the sound of the helicopter coming was that great reassurance knowing that their journey and distress was over.

“It demonstrates the importance of having the right emergency equipment and being self-sufficient and knowing what to when an emergency arises.”