Crew members were called to respond to Abram's Falls Wednesday for a man reported to have fallen off of the waterfall. The SRT was activated and crew members responded unit 51 with rope rescue equipment to the scene. After having established that no other means of rescuing the patient were possible, an anchor point was established and rescuers rappelled down to the patient. The patient was loaded into a stokes basket and hauled up the incline by means of a 9:1 mechanical advantage system. Patient care was transferred to the Med-Flight II crew. The patient was later diagnosed with a pneumothorax but survived the incident. Posted below is a news clipping of the event.

Man Hurt In Fall At Abrams Falls

BRISTOL, Va. – A 52-year-old man was injured after falling nearly 90 feet from a cliff at Abrams Falls on Tuesday.

Gilbert Allen White, of Bristol, Va., was hiking around 3:30 p.m. when he fell from a cliff off the trail that he and a fellow hiker were on, said Kevin Leonard, firefighter at Goodson-Kinderhook Volunteer Fire Department.

Emergency crews hiked to Wright’s location from where he was taken via helicopter to Bristol Regional Medical Center for treatment, said a spokesperson at the Washington County Sheriff’s office.

Leonard did not know the nature of Wright’s injuries, but commented his condition worsened while crews prepared him for transport and he seemed “semiconscious” before he left.

A hospital spokesman said Wright was in fair condition Tuesday night.

Abrams Falls, which is on private property, has several cliffs, some dry and some with waterfalls. Tuesday’s incident happened at a dry cliff.

Source: www.tricities.com/tri/news/local/article/man_injured_at_abrams_falls/12630/