Fire Department officials rescued a truck driver who tumbled into a ravine in California after he was trapped for five days, authorities say.
Members of the Kern County Fire Department rescued an unnamed motorist Sept. 2 after someone notified officials a vehicle had been spotted at the bottom of a ravine near Bakersfield, according to an incident report from the fire department.
Upon arriving at the scene, fire department members discovered a badly damaged pickup truck at the base of a 100-foot cliff with a motorist trapped inside. A firefighter who was lowered into the ravine via rope discovered the driver was badly injured and had been trapped in the vehicle for nearly five days, the report stated.
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Emergency responders, realizing more assistance would be needed to bring the driver to safety, lowered three more firefighters into the ravine who managed to extract the driver from the chasm by utilizing a stokes basket, the incident report stated. In all, 21 emergency personnel participated in the rescue, including four engines, six patrols and one urban search and rescue team, CBS News reported.
Video of the rescue shows emergency responders stabilizing the stokes basket as they walk with it up the ravine, while a whole team of officials work together to help hoist them back up to the roadway. (RELATED: Dramatic Video Shows First Responders On Helicopter Rescuing Driver Who Drove Off Malibu Cliff)
Once out of the ravine, an ambulance transported the victim to a landing zone before being airlifted to a local hospital for treatment.
An update on the driver’s condition was not given.
An investigation into how the driver got into the ravine is currently underway, CBS News reported.