An injured female hiker has been airlifted out of a section of The Narrows at Zion National Park.
The hiker, who was found in a stable condition being treated by fellow hikers who were healthcare professionals, was transported to a landing zone and then driven to the hospital for further treatment.
According to local news station KSL, the incident happened at 9.30am on Sunday March 2 about 1.5 miles upstream.
Hurricane Valley Fire & Rescue’s Station 49 crew worked with Zion National Park’s rescue teams to coordinate the pickup. You can watch the rescue from two perspectives – from the air and from the hoist.
The Narrows is one of the most popular hikes in the Utah national park. It is a gorge with a river running through it. The walls are a thousand feet tall and sometimes just 20 to 30 feet wide.
For much of it there is no trail and hikers must walk though the river, which makes rescue missions more difficult.
The Narrows are susceptible to flash flooding. During storms, runoff is funneled rapidly into the gorge and hikers can quickly become stranded.
