A 46-year-old hiker was traveling on the Appalachian Trail when he suddenly became ill and was unable to walk. Multiple agencies worked to help locate and safely extract the man.
FANNIN COUNTY, Ga. – A solo hiker encountered a serious scare while traveling alone along the Appalachian Trail on Saturday.
A 46-year-old man was hiking north along the Appalachian Trail near Hawk Mountain, according to officials. While traveling, he had suddenly become ill and was unable to walk.
The Fannin County Emergency Management Agency, along with other first responders, tried to reach the victim in a remote section of the trail.
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Eventually, crews located the hiker, who was non-ambulatory, and treated him for injuries.
Due to the rugged terrain and the hiker’s remote location, rescuers packaged the patient in a stokes basket and carried him to a more suitable extraction point by helicopter.
A helicopter was then used to transport the injured hiker to the nearest hospital for further evaluation.
Rescuers use a helicopter to extract a hiker in Georgia.
(Fannin County Emergency Management Agency / Facebook)
Video footage shows the hiker, linked to a rescuer, being lifted into the sky just before 7 p.m., after nearly seven hours of coordinated rescue efforts involving multiple agencies.
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Officials said it’s important that hikers know their physical limits and to share their hiking plan with someone in case they ever wind up stranded.
