A hiker was trapped under a five-ton boulder on a California cliff for seven hours last week until a volunteer search team freed him in a daring rescue that lasted into the early hours of the morning.
The unidentified man’s legs were trapped under a rock in an accident while hiking in the Inyo Mountains Tuesday afternoon, according to Inyo County Search and Rescue, which was called to respond.
Nine volunteer crew members made their way to the stranded hiker below Santa Rita Flat by helicopter and four-wheel drive vehicles, arriving well after dark, the rescue team said.
They found the hiker “in great pain and his left leg trapped under a large rock on a steep hillside.”
They estimated the rock that crushed his leg weighed between 6,000 and 10,000 pounds, Inyo County Search & Rescue said.
The search and rescue team estimated the rock that crushed his leg weighed between 6,000 and 10,000 pounds. Inyo County Search and Rescue
The rescue team created “a system of ropes, pulleys and levers” to move the giant rock enough to free the man’s leg. They then assessed his crushed leg and stabilized the injury until doctors arrived by helicopter.
“Due to the severity of the hiker’s injuries and the difficulty of the terrain, it was decided to extract him despite the darkness using a helicopter from U.S. Naval Air Station Lemoor,” Inyo County Search & Rescue said.
The helicopter was unable to land due to the mountainous terrain, so a U.S. Navy medic rappelled down to the injured hiker and both were hoisted onto the plane.
The hiker was flown to a Fresno hospital for treatment after midnight.
The hiker was trapped, with his leg trapped under the rock for seven hours. Inyo County Search and Rescue
Members of the Inyo County Search and Rescue team left the mountains and said goodbye at 4 a.m.
The team said the difficult mission included several challenges along the way, including “coordination of multiple agencies and resources; accessing an accident site on steep, loose rocky terrain; use limited resources to move a large rock; caring for a seriously injured patient for several hours while waiting for the helicopter to be released; assist in the night hoisting of a helicopter; all in the cold darkness of December.”
The nonprofit did not provide an update on the hiker’s condition.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn