Officials said it was too dangerous to rescue the man when he was first spotted Tuesday night
NEED TO KNOW
- A hiker was airlifted off the top of a mountain in Arizona earlier this week, after he became trapped there for hours
- Rescue teams were able to deliver water, blankets and a phone to him via drone the night before
- “It was definitely a more difficult rescue than we’re used to on this mountain,” Phoenix Fire Capt. DJ Lee said
After a hiker became trapped on the top of a mountain in Arizona overnight earlier this week, he was rescued following a “high-risk,” 13-hour operation captured on video.
Officials first learned of the stranded man on Tuesday, Dec. 9, after 8 p.m. local time, when he was spotted by a Phoenix Police Department helicopter on the top of Camelback Mountain on Echo Canyon Trail, which has been closed for several weeks, according to ABC affiliate KNXV, NBC affiliate KPNX and the Roswell Daily Record.
“He’s very lucky that [police] actually saw him when they were flying over,” Phoenix Fire Capt. DJ Lee told KNXV. “It could have been a lot longer of a night for him if they didn’t.”…