Colorado rescuers forced to use Black Hawk helicopter after two hikers were struck by LIGHTNING
The dramatic rescue happened Thursday near the top of Torreys Peak - a 14,300ft mountain about 40 miles outside of Denver.
The hikers, two unidentified men from New York state, called for help around 5pm after they got off course while attempting to climb the 11th-highest summit in the state.
'It doesn't sound like they had a ton of prior experience. I think it was probably just a lack of awareness,' Jake Smith, one of the rescuers, said.
Mission leaders then directed the men on how to get back on the correct trail, but while on the phone, things quickly took a turn for the worse.
After an hour of talking to the hikers, the team were preparing to 'stand down' when all of sudden the pair was struck by lightning, leaving one of the men unresponsive, Alpine Rescue Team said.
Moments later, one of the hikers told the team what happened, prompting about 30 rescuers to make their way up the steep mountain while another group brought in a Colorado National Guard Black Hawk helicopter for assistance.
'He was on the phone with them and said they've been struck by lightning, and then at that time it was kind of "Go, go, go get things ready, get out the door!,' Smith told CBS News.
'After a few more seconds, somebody came back on the line had said, "We've been hit by lightning. My partner's down. He's not responsive. He's foaming at the mouth. Do I start CPR? What do I do?"'
The military chopper was specifically brought in to transport the unresponsive man in critical condition by using a hoist at 14,200ft to get him off the mountain.
The injured man was then flown down to an ambulance and taken to a local hospital before being transferred to a burn unit, according to Smith.
The helicopter then made another trip around midnight to rescue the less seriously hurt man.
Dramatic footage showed rescuers securing one of the hikers as the helicopter made its way to the top of the mountain.
Other images showed the team hiking up the mountain with gear and flashlights.
The hikers' current conditions remain unclear.
Daily Mail contacted Alpine Rescue Team for more information.
Both rescues took place around 14,200ft - the new state records for a helicopter rescue, officials believe. The previous rescue reached 13,700ft.
These rescues are specifically challenging because the thin air causes choppers to lose lifting ability the higher they fly.
Black Hawk helicopters have an altitude of approximately 19,000ft, the Associated Press reported.
Both hikers and climbers typically prefer to ascend in the morning to avoid the Rocky Mountain high country during summer afternoons.
Thunderstorms are common in the area and are known to develop suddenly with not just lightning, but low temperatures and hail.
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