Karla Ward
Lexington Herald-Leader
WHITLEY COUNTY, Ky. — A hiker who fell over a waterfall and landed on a submerged rock was rescued by a “precision nighttime helicopter hoist” involving multiple agencies Friday night in a remote area near Laurel River Dam, Kentucky State Police said.
The 18-year-old was injured when he and some friends “hiked down a trail to a waterfall that empties into a small pool below,” state police said in a news release. “As the group attempted to cross above the waterfall, one of the hikers lost his footing and fell over the falls into the water.”
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He landed on a submerged rock and was not able to climb out because of injuries to his knee and ankle, police said.
Whitley County dispatchers were able to pinpoint his location quickly using the 911 caller’s latitude and longitude, state police said.
Kentucky State Police’s Aircraft Support Branch was called to help rescue the injured man at 7:45 p.m.
They and Kentucky Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 1 worked together to execute the nighttime hoist. State police said a Georgetown-Scott County EMS paramedic with special training in helicopter aquatic hoist rescues “accompanied the flight crew to provide advanced medical care during the operation.”
Before the helicopter was called, state police said the Corbin Fire Department’s high angle rope rescue team had begun setting up a rope rescue system, while the Woodbine Search and Rescue Squad “launched an inflatable Zodiac rescue boat below the Laurel River Dam power plant to reach the patient by water.” But low water levels made a boat rescue impossible, state police said.
After the rescue, the teen was taken by helicopter to Williamsburg-Whitley County Airport and then transferred to Whitley County EMS to be evaluated and taken to a hospital, state police said.
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