KNOXVILLE, Md. — A 35-year-old woman was airlifted to safety Tuesday after getting injured and stranded in below-freezing temperatures while hiking in Maryland.
Shortly before 3:45 p.m., Washington County fire, rescue and emergency medical personnel were called to a remote portion of Maryland Heights, above the Potomac River, for a hiker that was injured and stranded.
From a popular lookout, across the river from historic Harpers Ferry, Potomac Valley Fire Company personnel surveyed the scene. They determined it would be too difficult to extract the 35-year-old woman from the side of the mountain due to the remote and dangerous terrain. A request was then submitted for an aerial extraction resulting in the dispatching of Trooper 2 – MSPAC Washington Section, located at Joint Base Andrews.
Once overhead, the crew from Trooper 2 put a flight paramedic on to the southwestern portion of Maryland Heights, using the Agusta AW-139 helicopter’s hoist to lower him to rescuers below.
After conducting an assessment of the hiker’s injuries, the paramedic secured the hiker in a Bauman “Screamer Suit” harness for extrication from the side of the mountain.
The hiker was then hoisted approximately 100 feet into the helicopter, at which time Trooper 2 transitioned to a medevac role and flew the patient to Meritus Medical Center in Hagerstown, Maryland for evaluation and treatment.
This is all the information available at this time. Stay with WUSA9 for further updates as they are made available.
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