Crews responded to Lower Purgatory Falls in Lyndeborough on Sunday to rescue a hiker who had fallen from a ledge.
Lyndeborough Fire Department Deputy Chief Kevin Berkebile said in an interview Monday the department responded to the falls at around 2:30 p.m. for a man who had fallen about 15-20 feet.
The man, whose identity Berkebile did not know, was hiking with friends when he slipped, landing near the edge of the falls.
The man’s injuries were serious, and included a head injury, Berkebile said, and he was in and out of consciousness when Wilton Ambulance paramedic crews arrived.
The trail was not wide enough for fire crews to use their utility vehicle, which they often use with hiking rescues, Berkebile said, so the man was carried out on a stretcher manually.
Emergency responders had to hike for about 12-minutes up the trail to reach the man, Berkebile said.
“It was a manual carry-out, which makes it a little tougher and wears our guys out quicker. We got him out of the woods pretty quickly,” Berkebile said.
A Dartmouth-Hitchcock Advanced Response Team helicopter landed at Fitch’s Corner Farm in Milford and flew the man to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts for treatment.
Wilton Ambulance, Lyndeborough Police Department, Milford Fire Department, Milford Police Department, and Mont Vernon Police Department assisted on the scene.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com.