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 Man rescued from Narrows STORY COPIED FROM THE SPECTRUM Man rescued from Narrows By PATRICE ST. GERMAIN -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ZION NATIONAL PARK -- Members of the Zion National Park Search and Rescue team were called out Tuesday afternoon for an injured person in Orderville Canyon, an offshoot of the Narrows. Park spokesman Ron Terry said the call was received at approximately 3:55 p.m. Search and Rescue personnel along with a medic were dispatched and found 32-year-old Chris Eddy from Spokane, Wash., with an injured ankle and unable to walk. Eddy was found approximately one quarter-mile up Orderville Canyon. Once Eddy's ankle was splinted, he was placed in a litter and was floated out of the Narrows on a rescue raft. It was the first time the raft, designed and especially built for Zion Park, was used, Terry said.
"The rescue raft is pontoons with braces in between that places the litter fairly high up and then the patient can be floated out," Terry said. "It's a prototype and it was the first time it was used in the park and park personnel was pleased with the way it worked."
Eddy was floated out of the Narrows and was out by 9:45 p.m. He was then transported to Dixie Regional Medical Center by private vehicle where he was treated for a fractured ankle. The park has already had several search and rescues this year and the busy tourist season is still weeks away. Terry said Tuesday's rescue occurred after Eddy, who had been exploring up Orderville Canyon, jumped from a boulder or ledge on his way back down and injured his ankle. "One of the things in Tuesday's incident, was the person was not wearing proper footwear for hiking in the Narrows," Terry said. "He was not wearing shoes with good ankle support and that is something we always recommend." In designing the rescue raft, Terry said park personnel worked with a company in New Mexico to come up with the design. Tuesday was the first time the raft was used. Prior to that, inflatable rafts were used for similar rescues but did not work as well as the new prototype. Terry said the new raft is easier to handle, takes fewer people to handle and is more stable than an inflatable raft. Originally published Thursday, May 9, 2002
Jack's Note Jack, We had our first Narrows carryout of the season yesterday which means that It worked extremely well. Our old rescue boat was an Avon 8 footer with a The Eddy is also lighter, more stable, and kept the patient drier than the And, conditions were not ideal yesterday. The river is at record low So, thanks for building us an excellent rescue boat. If you send me an address, I will send you a disk with some pictures. Here are the pictures |
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