Rescuers free climber trapped beneath 16,000-pound boulder on Oregon’s Mount Hood in complex operation

An injured climber pinned beneath a massive 16,000-pound boulder on Oregon's Mount Hood was airlifted to safety Sunday after first responders were able to move the rock.

A technical rescue team with the Clackamas Fire District responded to a mutual aid request from Hoodland Fire to help rescue an injured climber at around 10:20 a.m. Other agencies responded to Timberline Lodge and proceeded on foot and via snowcat where they found the climber pinned under a boulder estimated to weigh 16,000 pounds.

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"The boulder had fallen on the patient during a minor rockslide, and despite immediate attempts at rescue by a large crowd of bystanders, the boulder could not be moved," the fire district said in a Facebook post.

The climber was conscious and able to communicate, but the circumstances and potential severity of the injuries prompted a more complex response. Crews worked to construct a system to lift the boulder from the climber, while others contacted LifeFlight and Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) to activate a specialized field surgical team.

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While rescuers worked amid challenging conditions to remove the boulder, physicians and surgeons at OHSU assembled medical equipment and loaded it onboard a LifeFlight helicopter, the district said. Video footage posted by the fire district showed workers trying to free the climber from the boulder.

"At approximately 12:30 p.m., just as the second helicopter was circling the scene to land, the Technical Rescue Team freed the patient from the boulder and moved the injured person to the first helicopter for immediate transport to an area hospital," the Facebook post states.

The unidentified climber was being treated at the hospital and is expected to recover.