Snake bite leads to helicopter rescue off mountain trail in California, officials say
One person is in critical condition after suffering a snake bite on a mountainous hiking trail in California, according to rescue officials.
Cal Fire in San Diego County got to the hiker near the Otay Mountain Truck Trail in Dulzura, California, early Sunday evening, officials said in a Facebook post. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Border Patrol were also on scene.
The person, whose name, age and gender was not given by officials, was rescued by a helicopter and taken to the hospital in critical condition, according to a follow-up post.
The off-road trail where the person was hiking “traverses (Otay Mountain) east to west,” according to the Bureau of Land Management. It’s used to access the Otay Mountain Wilderness, roughly 16,800 acres of land just north of the U.S.-Mexico border in eastern San Diego.
A group of five people were hiking the trail when a snake bit one of them, The San-Diego Union Tribune reported.
Cal Fire Capt. Thomas Shoots told the newspaper that Border Patrol called his department for help around 5:50 p.m. Using a sheriff’s helicopter, Cal Fire rescuers then “hoisted the hiker and took the injured person to a hospital for treatment,” The Tribune reported.
An update on the hiker’s condition was not immediately available Monday.
