Hiker rescued after 300-pound boulder crushes his leg on mountain trek
The man was airlifted off the mountain and taken to a trauma hospital with extensive injuries
A hiker accidentally became partially trapped under a 300-pound boulder on Camelback Mountain in Phoenix, Ariz., Saturday morning.
The large boulder fell on the man's leg when he leaned on the 300-pound rock to let other hikers pass him, becoming stuck underneath it, according to the Phoenix Fire Department.
Fire spokesperson Capt. Rob McDade said the man was visiting from out of state and was enjoying a morning hike on the Cholla Trail section of the mountain around 10:30 a.m. when he paused to let other hikers pass him. He became trapped and had to be freed by a technical rescue team from the Phoenix Fire Department.
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He had to be rescued using tools that are more commonly used to free a person trapped in a collapsed building or pinned under a vehicle.
The man was then airlifted off the mountain and taken to a trauma hospital with “extensive lower extremity injuries,” McDade told AZ Family.
As of Saturday, the City Of Phoenix's parks department closed down Camelback Mountain until further notice.
Source: AZ Family
Thumbnail courtesy of Phoenix Fire Department.