Lost hunter in Georgia airlifted from ravine in dramatic rescue operation
· Toronto Sun
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A lost and injured hunter who was stuck in a steep ravine in Georgia had to be airlifted to safety by a U.S. Army helicopter in a rescue operation captured on video .
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In a Facebook post Sunday, the Fannin County Emergency Management Agency said it received a call on Saturday morning about the hunter in distress in the Cohutta Wildlife Management Area near the Pinhoti Trail off Forest Service Road 64.
The agency’s search and rescue crews and members of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources began looking for the hunter, with rescuers locating him “several miles off trail and thousands of feet below the surrounding terrain in a steep ravine,” Fannin County EMA said.
It said Georgia DNR first made contact with the man shortly after 7 p.m. But once rescuers assessed him, they ruled out carrying him out on foot as the severity of his injuries and the difficult terrain made it an unsafe and impossible option.
Instead, they requested a helicopter rescue team for extraction.
Rescuers dealing with heavy wind gusts
“With darkness already setting in and changing weather conditions in the area, most traditional aviation resources were no longer an option,” Fannin County EMA said in the Facebook post. “The U.S. Army Camp Merrill helicopter rescue team was able to respond and conduct a nighttime hoist operation, successfully extracting the patient from the ravine and transporting him to a nearby hospital for further treatment.”
The agency shared a video showing a member of the U.S. Army harnessed and tethered to a helicopter being lifted up while holding the hunter wearing an orange vest as fierce winds whipped nearby tree branches.
The rescue operation was over after the ground crew hiked out of the wilderness by 3 a.m. Sunday, Fannin County EMA said.