Post by Greg Stamper on Dec 14, 2013 22:26:19 GMT -5
Video Links:
www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/Man-seriously-injured-in-fall-at-Red-River-Gorge-235890381.html
www.wtvq.com/content/localnews/story/Hiker-Falls-Off-Cliff-In-Powell-County/7fRkQSJKVUev9caAwFOHcA.cspx
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POWELL COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - On Saturday, rescue crews from across eastern Kentucky worked tirelessly to help a man who suffered life-threatening injuries at Red River Gorge.
We’re told the man was camping with a friend near Tunnel Ridge Road near Stanton when he slipped on an icy rock and fell 60 feet down a cliff.
“They were setting up camp and he stepped on an icy rock and slipped and fell off,” said Eddie Conner with Wolfe County Search and Rescue.
According to workers, the hiker had fallen into a crevasse dozens of feet deep and was lodged between two large rocks.
To complicate the rescue mission even more, the man was way off the beaten track about three miles into a trail within the gorge.
“It took us about an hour just to hike in and then a couple hours on scene to get him out and then a couple more to hike him back up. It was a mess,” said John May with Wolfe County Search and Rescue.
And Saturday’s weather only made matters worse.
“The weather really played a factor in our rescue. It made things muddy, there was some ice on rocks and the cold weather played a toll on our patient,” Conner told us.
After more than eight hours and with the help of a group of 20 workers--the man made it out alive.
“I fully expect him to make a recovery from this. He’s very lucky. When you fall 60 feet like that it’s typically a fatal fall so he was very lucky,” May said.
Officials could not tell us the extent of the man's injuries but they did say he is in critical condition at this point and that's mostly because of how long he was out in the cold.
The hiker is now recovering at UK Hospital.
www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/Man-seriously-injured-in-fall-at-Red-River-Gorge-235890381.html
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Hiker Falls Off Cliff In Powell County
Reported by: Ellen Bryan
Email: ebryan@wtvq.com
Crews rescued a man in Powell County who fell off a cliff early Saturday morning at Red River Gorge.
A member of the Wolfe County Search and Rescue Team said a man was on the Auxier Ridge Trail, just off Tunnel Ridge Road.
He said around 9:30 a.m. the man was taking a picture when he slipped on the icy rocks and fell 60 feet off a cliff on Haystack Rock.
Crews said it was a hard rescue because the man fell into a crack and the cliff line was very tight.
It took search and rescue teams from Wolfe, Powell, Menifee and Morgan Counties nearly nine hours to free him.
They said the man did have severe injuries, but was alert and talking during the rescue.
He was taken by ambulance to the hospital for treatment.
www.wtvq.com/content/localnews/story/Hiker-Falls-Off-Cliff-In-Powell-County/7fRkQSJKVUev9caAwFOHcA.cspx
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Man rescued from Red River Gorge crevice, taken to UK Hospital
By Greg Kocher
gkocher1@herald-leader.com December 14, 2013
A Cincinnati man was taken to University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital in Lexington after he fell 50 feet at Red River Gorge in Powell County, a Wolfe County rescuer said.
"He fell into a crack or crevice in a rock," said Eddie Conner of Wolfe County Search and Rescue. "He stepped on top of a ledge and slipped on some ice-covered rocks and then rolled down a slight slope and fell into that crevice."
The accident was reported shortly before 9:30 a.m. Saturday to the Powell County dispatch center, Conner said. The accident happened at the end of Tunnel Ridge Road on a trail that leads to Haystack Rock, Conner said.
A friend who was with the man called 911 to report the accident.
It took rescuers until about 7 p.m. to get the man out of the woods, Conner said. Two paramedics rappelled down to the spot where the man was, and then eased him out using a backboard.
"It was a very slow, long process, because the crevice he fell in wasn't wide enough for his own body, much less anybody else in there with him," Conner said.
The man, who was not identified, was taken by ambulance to the UK hospital because it was too foggy for a helicopter to come in for an airlift, Conner said.
"He had a broken leg" Conner said. "He also had a lot of bruises, cuts and scrapes on him. ...He had mild hypothermia and was going into shock from his injuries. They had him bundled and tarped real good."
Some 33 people responded from Menifee, Morgan, Powell and Wolfe counties, Conner said.
Local restaurants and a grocery supplied food to the hungry rescuers Saturday night.
Greg Kocher: (859) 231-3305. Twiter: @hlpublicsafety
www.kentucky.com/2013/12/14/2988961/man-rescued-from-red-river-gorge.html
www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/Man-seriously-injured-in-fall-at-Red-River-Gorge-235890381.html
www.wtvq.com/content/localnews/story/Hiker-Falls-Off-Cliff-In-Powell-County/7fRkQSJKVUev9caAwFOHcA.cspx
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POWELL COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - On Saturday, rescue crews from across eastern Kentucky worked tirelessly to help a man who suffered life-threatening injuries at Red River Gorge.
We’re told the man was camping with a friend near Tunnel Ridge Road near Stanton when he slipped on an icy rock and fell 60 feet down a cliff.
“They were setting up camp and he stepped on an icy rock and slipped and fell off,” said Eddie Conner with Wolfe County Search and Rescue.
According to workers, the hiker had fallen into a crevasse dozens of feet deep and was lodged between two large rocks.
To complicate the rescue mission even more, the man was way off the beaten track about three miles into a trail within the gorge.
“It took us about an hour just to hike in and then a couple hours on scene to get him out and then a couple more to hike him back up. It was a mess,” said John May with Wolfe County Search and Rescue.
And Saturday’s weather only made matters worse.
“The weather really played a factor in our rescue. It made things muddy, there was some ice on rocks and the cold weather played a toll on our patient,” Conner told us.
After more than eight hours and with the help of a group of 20 workers--the man made it out alive.
“I fully expect him to make a recovery from this. He’s very lucky. When you fall 60 feet like that it’s typically a fatal fall so he was very lucky,” May said.
Officials could not tell us the extent of the man's injuries but they did say he is in critical condition at this point and that's mostly because of how long he was out in the cold.
The hiker is now recovering at UK Hospital.
www.wkyt.com/home/headlines/Man-seriously-injured-in-fall-at-Red-River-Gorge-235890381.html
-------------------------------------
-------------------------------------
Hiker Falls Off Cliff In Powell County
Reported by: Ellen Bryan
Email: ebryan@wtvq.com
Crews rescued a man in Powell County who fell off a cliff early Saturday morning at Red River Gorge.
A member of the Wolfe County Search and Rescue Team said a man was on the Auxier Ridge Trail, just off Tunnel Ridge Road.
He said around 9:30 a.m. the man was taking a picture when he slipped on the icy rocks and fell 60 feet off a cliff on Haystack Rock.
Crews said it was a hard rescue because the man fell into a crack and the cliff line was very tight.
It took search and rescue teams from Wolfe, Powell, Menifee and Morgan Counties nearly nine hours to free him.
They said the man did have severe injuries, but was alert and talking during the rescue.
He was taken by ambulance to the hospital for treatment.
www.wtvq.com/content/localnews/story/Hiker-Falls-Off-Cliff-In-Powell-County/7fRkQSJKVUev9caAwFOHcA.cspx
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Man rescued from Red River Gorge crevice, taken to UK Hospital
By Greg Kocher
gkocher1@herald-leader.com December 14, 2013
A Cincinnati man was taken to University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital in Lexington after he fell 50 feet at Red River Gorge in Powell County, a Wolfe County rescuer said.
"He fell into a crack or crevice in a rock," said Eddie Conner of Wolfe County Search and Rescue. "He stepped on top of a ledge and slipped on some ice-covered rocks and then rolled down a slight slope and fell into that crevice."
The accident was reported shortly before 9:30 a.m. Saturday to the Powell County dispatch center, Conner said. The accident happened at the end of Tunnel Ridge Road on a trail that leads to Haystack Rock, Conner said.
A friend who was with the man called 911 to report the accident.
It took rescuers until about 7 p.m. to get the man out of the woods, Conner said. Two paramedics rappelled down to the spot where the man was, and then eased him out using a backboard.
"It was a very slow, long process, because the crevice he fell in wasn't wide enough for his own body, much less anybody else in there with him," Conner said.
The man, who was not identified, was taken by ambulance to the UK hospital because it was too foggy for a helicopter to come in for an airlift, Conner said.
"He had a broken leg" Conner said. "He also had a lot of bruises, cuts and scrapes on him. ...He had mild hypothermia and was going into shock from his injuries. They had him bundled and tarped real good."
Some 33 people responded from Menifee, Morgan, Powell and Wolfe counties, Conner said.
Local restaurants and a grocery supplied food to the hungry rescuers Saturday night.
Greg Kocher: (859) 231-3305. Twiter: @hlpublicsafety
www.kentucky.com/2013/12/14/2988961/man-rescued-from-red-river-gorge.html