Hiker on the Appalachian Trail needed help, and fast. These people saved his life
A hiker on the Appalachian Trail needed help, and fast.
The man suddenly experienced “severe chest pains” north of Fontana Lake Friday morning and could go no farther, rangers in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park said.
About 10:30 a.m. Friday, the park’s emergency communications center fielded a call for help for 74-year-old Alabama resident Michael Elmore, rangers said in a news release.
The North Carolina Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team flew to the scene, met there by emergency responders from the National Park Service, Graham County EMS, Swain County Search and Rescue and the North Carolina Forest Service.
The site was too dangerous for responders to hoist the man in a basket up to the helicopter, so they “litter-carried” him to a safer spot where he was hoisted into the craft.
The crew flew Elmore to Mission Hospital in Asheville, where his condition on Saturday wasn’t immediately known.
This story was originally published April 23, 2022 at 1:10 PM with the headline "Hiker on the Appalachian Trail needed help, and fast. These people saved his life."