FARMINGTON, N.M. -- A utility worker was injured Monday morning when he fell about 15 feet from a canyon wall at Navajo Dam.
The San Juan County Fire Department's technical rescue team and San Juan Regional Medical Center's AirCare helicopter accomplished a high-angle rescue to get the injured man from the dam to the hospital, said San Juan County Fire Chief Doug Hatfield.
The accident happened just north of the Texas Hole fishing area in the San Juan Quality Waters.
The injured man, whose name was not released, was walking down the canyon to access power poles when he slipped, Hatfield said. Nearby utility workers called 911 at about 9:30 a.m.
The name of the company the man worked for was not made available.
The hospital's helicopter was the first on the scene and a paramedic from the helicopter was able to access the injured man, Hatfield said.
"AirCare is a vital resource in situations like this when other rescue services cannot reach the patient as quickly," Mike Berve, the manager of the AirCare program, said in a prepared statement.
The fire department's technical rescue team rappelled into the canyon and built a pulley system to haul the injured man out of the canyon.
The man was in the helicopter en route to the hospital by 11 a.m., Hatfield said.
The man remained in serious condition at the hospital, said Kathryn Pettijohn, a hospital spokeswoman.
The county fire department has a rescue team comprised of firefighters from several precincts. The team
has members who specialize in high-angle and swift-water rescues as well as divers.
The team "spends a lot of time training for different types of rescues and they were able to use that training during an actual incident to help a person in need," Hatfield said.
Copyright 2012 - The Daily Times, Farmington, N.M.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
