63-year-old hiker rescued from Grand Canyon with a traumatic shoulder injury after falling, rescue group says
By Sara Smart, CNN
(CNN) — A 63-year-old hiker was rescued from the Grand Canyon in Arizona last week after he suffered a traumatic shoulder injury due to a fall, a volunteer search and rescue organization affiliated with a sheriff’s office said.
The hiker was part of a group of five friends who were backpacking along the Kanab Creek in the canyon’s North Rim in Grand Canyon National Park on Friday, according to Mohave County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue.
The man suffered from a traumatic injury to his shoulder after falling on Friday afternoon, and he needed emergency medical attention and evacuation, the search and rescue organization said.
Someone used an Apple device to call for help through a satellite connection, and the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office received the call around 6 p.m., the rescue group said.
When contact for help was confirmed, the other four hikers continued on their backpacking trip, leaving with the Apple device, according to the rescue group.
The friends had been hiking for about three or four days and had another three or four to go, the rescue group said.
The rescue group “encourages everyone to never leave someone behind alone and whenever possible, to stay with them and ensure they are rescued before continuing on their journey,” the group said.
The rescue group and a state Department of Public Safety rescue helicopter were activated. The helicopter crew, facing darkness and tall canyon walls, landed about a quarter mile from the injured hiker, the rescue group said.
The crew made its way through a creek and around boulders to reach the hiker. The crew stabilized him and helped him to the helicopter, in which he was flown to a Flagstaff hospital for medical evaluation, according to the rescue group.
CNN has sought more information about the incident from the National Park Service.
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