Rescuers pluck hiker to safety after 30-foot tumble in steep terrain near Coloma
Rescuers pulled an injured hiker to safety after the person tumbled about 30 feet off a trail in steep, remote terrain along the South Fork of the American River near Coloma, Cal Fire officials said.
Cal Fire Amador-El Dorado Unit officials said the rescue was complex, after the hiker traveled about a mile into a canyon along the river’s south fork before falling down a steep, rocky embankment late Sunday afternoon.
Photos and video from Cal Fire showed a helicopter lowering a rescuer to the scene and later lifting the hiker to safety.
El Dorado County sheriff’s deputies were first to the scene and used a drone to locate the injured hiker from above.
Deputies relayed the hiker’s location to Cal Fire, Garden Valley and El Dorado County fire personnel, who worked together to treat the hiker and prepare for an airlift by a California Highway Patrol helicopter. The CHP crew, with an El Dorado County fire rescue technician aboard, hoisted the hiker and flew a short distance to a waiting ground ambulance for transport to a hospital.
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