"He’s very fortunate," a fire official said after the teen was brought to safety by first responders
NEED TO KNOW
- A 15-year-old boy was seriously injured after he fell more than 50 feet down an embankment in Oregon on April 4
- The teen had to be hoisted to safety by first responders
- “He was very tough,” Gresham Fire Captain Travis Soles said after the rescue
A 15-year-old boy fractured his skull when he tumbled 50 feet down an embankment just outside of Portland, Ore. He was taken to the hospital following a highly technical rescue.
On the afternoon of Saturday, April 4, the teen was hiking near Southeast Stark Street in Troutdale near the Sandy River when he fell more than 50 feet down an embankment, NBC affiliate KGW, CBS affiliate KOIN and ABC affiliate WHAS reported.
Fortunately, the 15-year-old retained consciousness and was able to call 911, Gresham Fire Captain Travis Soles told KGW.
Using the young hiker’s description and his cell phone location, first responders were eventually able to locate him amidst the heavy tree coverage. Soles and his team approached the victim by boat and determined it would be best to transport him to safety using a high-angle rope system, the outlet reported.
“They lower with a rope system, a rescuer and a Stokes basket, down over the side of the cliff," the fire captain told KGW. "We were able to get to him and bring them down directly on top of us basically, and then we load the patient into that Stokes basket, make sure they are secure, and then raise him back over the cliff.”
The boy broke his femur and suffered a skull fracture and was taken to an area hospital, KOIN reported. He was visibly shaken when he was hoisted to the roadside.
“The amount of trauma in things like that… there’s a lot of rocks, there’s a lot of trees, you know, stationary objects that he had run into,” a fire official at the scene told the outlet. “So, he’s very fortunate.”
Credit: AP Photo/Jenny Kane
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The Gresham Fire Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
“He was very tough," Soles told KGW. "I will give him a lot of credit because he did a lot to help with the success of his rescue.”