From WJHL -
The Tennessee Army National Guard (TNG) deployed a Blackhawk helicopter to rescue a hiker in medical distress from the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park on Wednesday, June 28th.
According to a release from the national guard, the TNG and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) were notified shortly after 10 a.m. that a 22-year-old hiker was suffering head trauma in a remote part of the park, just north of the Tennessee border in Virginia.
The mission was approved by TEMA, and the TNG dispatched the 1-230th Assault Helicopter Battalion in Knoxville after assembling a flight crew and preparing the Blackhawk, the release states. The crew left Knoxville shortly after 11:10 a.m.
According to the TNG, the crew arrived at the rescue site 25 minutes later and quickly found the victim. Park rangers were also on the scene administering first aid.
Flight paramedics were lowered to the ground, and the TNG reports the hiker was placed on a specially-designed rescue litter once they were prepared. The victim and paramedics were hoisted into the helicopter and flown to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville, according to the release.
The helicopter arrived at the hospital around 12:25 p.m., and the TNG reports the entire rescue operation took less than an hour and a half. The injured hiker was received by hospital staff and taken to the emergency room.