Mountain rescue lasts seven hours, hiker safe

A 49-year-old man was rescued today after a seven hour operation. Combined Search and Rescue; Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue; Texas Parks and Wildlife; and the Red Cross came together to help the injured man Saturday.

He had been hiking with a group several miles off the 1,000 Steps Trail, close to the B-36 crash site when he injured his leg. The group was able to call 911 from a cell phone around noon, but lost use of it later and had to be located as they used mirrors to communicate.

Rescuers started up the mountain and reached the hikers at 3:57 p.m.. It took them three more hours to get the patient down.

“We had to descend with him in a basket,” said Carlos Briano with the El Paso Fire Department.

The crews had to work slowly moving 200 feet at a time because of the hiker’s injuries.

“We didn’t want to have further injuries or have a ComSAR rescue team member injured,” Briano said.

The hiker was taken by the Fire Department to a local hospital. Officials say he doesn’t have life-threatening injuries