By Sara Schilling
The Wichita Eagle
SEWARD, Alaksa — A multi-agency rescue unfolded after a 61-year-old man became pinned face down by a roughly 700-pound boulder in an Alaska creek, officials said.
The man’s spouse held his head above water and firefighters mobilized to help him, the Seward Volunteer Fire Department said in a Facebook post.
The man was trapped May 24 in a boulder field in the headwaters of Fourth of July Creek in the Kenai Peninsula, officials said.
Rescuers set up a command post at a quarry about 2 miles downstream and made their way with the help of ATVs through the “extreme terrain,” officials said.
Seward Helicopter Tours jumped to help and flew firefighters to the trapped man, “cutting down 45 minutes of travel time,” according to officials.
The helicopter couldn’t land in the boulder field, so firefighters had to jump out while it hovered, officials said.
The 61-year-old man “was hypothermic and in and out of consciousness” when rescuers reached him, according to officials.
They used “air bags, ropes, and brute force to lift the boulder off” of him “and pull him to safety,” officials said.
Rescuers warmed him up, “and he became more alert, and his vitals improved,” according to officials.
The Alaska Air National Guard’s 176th Wing hoisted him from the canyon, officials said.
He was taken to a hospital and “is expected to make a full recovery,” according to officials, who said he didn’t appear to have life-threatening injuries.
Facebook commenters had praise for the rescuers.
“Definitely amazing! Thankful for all of the well-trained responders!” one person wrote.
The Kenai Peninsula is in south central Alaska.
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