A man was rushed to hospital after falling down a mineshaft in bushland in Nerrina.
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Emergency crews were called about 5.40pm Sunday to an area near Boroka Street.
The large-scale rescue operation involved SES and CFA volunteers as well as FRV firefighters, police, and ambulance crews.
According to a CFA spokesperson, the man fell about three metres, down a hole with a diameter of 1.5 metres by .5 metres.
The scene was brought under control about 7.18pm.
The Melton South man, in his 50s, was taken to the Ballarat Base Hospital in a serious but stable condition with upper and lower body injuries, an Ambulance Victoria spokesperson said in a statement.
SES unit controller Cameron Maher told The Courier it was a complex operation.
"It's all about safety of the casualty and the rescuers on scene as well," he said.
"Our initial focus was scene safety, so lighting up the area for plenty of visibility of the shaft and the track, and our members focused on finding a safe route to the mineshaft as well, making sure no one was going to injure themselves."
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Volunteers assisted FRV in extracting the man from the shaft, before walking the man on a stretcher 300 metres to a waiting ambulance.
"In this case, with the failing light, he was heading back to his car and he's lost his way," Mr Maher said.
"We're very fortunate, we don't deal with this particularly often, but our training - given Ballarat and the surrounding bushland - we certainly train and prepare for these events to rescue people, and work in that inter-agency space so everyone knows their role.
"There are probably thousands of mineshafts through the bush, but most people keep their distance.
"It was a good outcome, which is what we're always looking for."
