A California man who reportedly fell 1,000 feet down the side of a Hawaiian mountain during a hike earlier this month was rescued after three days in the wilderness, in what the hiker himself called a “miracle.”
Ian Snyder, 34, had been hiking alone on December 4 on the Ko’olau Summit Trail when he fell a fifth of a mile off the steep, treacherous trail, according to CNN.
“It’s first and foremost a miracle,” Snyder said at a press conference last Tuesday, according to ABC.
“I’m glad to be here, incredibly happy to be here, and I’m glad to be practically in one piece… I never expected a day of hiking like this to end the way it did.”
Before the fall, which knocked the father of three unconscious and left him with a shattered arm and a swollen closed eye, he had been skillfully making his way through what is considered one of the most challenging hikes on Oahu.
“He was in good shape and could handle things well,” Snyder said. “I looked at the Pali Highway and said, ‘Man, that’s way below me and I need to get there,’ that was my plan.”
It didn’t work that way.
Ian Snyder, 34, was rescued three days after falling 300 meters from a mountain trail in Hawaii. KITV The California man had been hiking what is considered one of the most difficult trails on Oahu. All trails
When Snyder woke up after the fall, he didn’t know what happened, what time it was or how long he had been gone.
“I can’t even remember if it was day or night the first time I came to,” Snyder said.
But he remembers feeling cold while lying near the base of a waterfall. The seriously injured man crawled closer to the creek and then hid from the wind between two rocks, CNN said.
The creek water kept him alive and Snyder says he never lost hope. Still, he made peace with God just in case.
At a news conference, Snyder thanked the rescuers who airlifted him to safety after the disastrous fall. KITV Snyder also saluted members of the Honolulu EMS unit who helped save him. KITV
“I wanted to live, so I wasn’t going to give up the will to live,” he said.
His family reported him missing when he did not return from the walk, ABC said.
Fortunately, Snyder had posted photos and videos on social media before he fell, helping rescuers determine his location using the phone’s geolocation.
Honolulu rescuers found him three days later, on December 7, near where he fell.
Rescuers were able to approximate its location because Snyder had posted photos on his social media accounts. Ian Snyder/X
Snyder said he realized they were looking for him when he woke up to the sound of a rescue helicopter flying low nearby.
“To our disbelief, he was waving his hands to get our attention,” Honolulu Fire Capt. Adrian Carvalho said, adding that the crew airlifted the mangled man to safety.
Despite the injuries, which included trauma to the chest and puncture wounds to the legs, Snyder said he is now recovering.
Snyder later said he was shocked to have lived through the ordeal. All trails
“My hope is that in a few weeks I will be back to normal,” Snyder said.
Still, he is surprised to have survived this ordeal.
“I couldn’t believe when people told me, ‘You fell a thousand feet off that cliff,’” Snyder said. “And I say, ‘How did I survive?’”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn