A Coast Guard chopper crew pulled a 74-year-old hiker to safety after he fell off a bridge and was left stranded in the wild — with the entire rescue caught on dramatic video.
The daring rescue happened Sunday afternoon, when a Coast Guard station was notified of the injured man about 18 miles east of Brookings, Oregon, the agency reported.
An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter was dispatched from the Guard’s Sector Humboldt Bay station shortly before 3 pm, arriving at the scene around 5:30 pm, the agency said.
The footage shows the chopper hovering over the bridge where the hiker fell, when a white pickup truck pulls up on the ground, transporting the injured man to a clearing in the woods.
A Coast Guard crew member is lowered to the ground along with a stretcher, with the hiker then pulled on board with the man, the video shows.
The injured man, whose name was not released, was flown to Del Norte County Airport in Crescent City, California for medical treatment.
The extent of the hiker’s injuries and his condition were not immediately available.