A stranded hiker was rescued by helicopter on Sunday after he spent more than an hour clinging to the side of a cliff along the Pacific Crest Trail.
The terrifying image of the woman grabbing the side of the cliff with a fall that covered hundreds of feet was captured in the video bodycam published by the Aviation Unit of the Sheriff’s Office of Riverside County.
Rescuers required a 911 text message to 10:11 am from the Whitewater Preserve area, just south of San Bernardino County. The woman sent an emergency text using her Garmin -style communications device, according to the Sheriff’s department.
Two helicopter pilots and three crew members found that the exhausted hiker left the side of a cliff, about 20 to 30 feet from the plateau. The officials described the incident as “an intense technical rescue” in An Instagram post.
The hiker shoes barely seized the rocks and still wore a heavy backpack full of supplies, authorities said.
A rescuer descended from the helicopter communicating instructions with the pilot while moving along the cliff and the bear hugged the woman. At one point, the hiker shouted and grabbed the ear of his body to hold on, video shows.
“He simply could not risk asking him to raise his arms, that he clearly was death grabbing the cliff, to place a rescue strap,” the Aviation team wrote on Instagram.
After a few dangerous minutes, the helicopter lifted the rescuer and the hiker to the top of the plateau. The hiker, who was not identified, launched his team and quickly grabbed a bottle of water.
The hiker did not suffer significant injuries, authorities said. It seemed to have some bloody scratches on the legs and knees in the video.
“Both had an adrenaline overturning once at the top,” the aviation team.
It is a bone a season busy for the rescue unit.
The unit saved a man and a woman on March 3 along a Ridgeline path About 9,000 feet above Idyllwild. Three hikers were also rescued on April 5 throughout the Pacific Crest Trail, with one suffering Of severe medical anguish.
