700-pound boulder pins man in creek as spouse fights to save him, AK officials say
A multi-agency rescue unfolded after a 61-year-old man became pinned face down by a roughly 700-pound boulder in an Alaska creek, officials said.
The man's spouse held his head above water and firefighters mobilized to help him, the Seward Volunteer Fire Department said in a Facebook post.
The man was trapped May 24 in a boulder field in the headwaters of Fourth of July Creek in the Kenai Peninsula, officials said.
Rescuers set up a command post at a quarry about 2 miles downstream and made their way with the help of ATVs through the 'extreme terrain,' officials said.
Seward Helicopter Tours jumped to help and flew firefighters to the trapped man, 'cutting down 45 minutes of travel time,' according to officials.
The helicopter couldn't land in the boulder field, so firefighters had to jump out while it hovered, officials said.
The 61-year-old man 'was hypothermic and in and out of consciousness' when rescuers reached him, according to officials.
They used 'air bags, ropes, and brute force to lift the boulder off' of him 'and pull him to safety,' officials said.
Rescuers warmed him up, 'and he became more alert, and his vitals improved,' according to officials.
The Alaska Air National Guard's 176th Wing hoisted him from the canyon, officials said.
He was taken to a hospital and 'is expected to make a full recovery,' according to officials, who said he didn't appear to have life-threatening injuries.
Facebook commenters had praise for the rescuers.
'Definitely amazing! Thankful for all of the well-trained responders!' one person wrote.
The Kenai Peninsula is in south central Alaska.
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Not much happens in Malpas, a small Cheshire market town set in lush countryside near the border of Wales. With a stately medieval church at its centre, a population of roughly 1,600, and an overactive Facebook group, the biggest news is usually distributed by the parish newsletter and is no more scandalous than the cancellation of the number 41 bus. Recently, however, Malpas has been set alight by an explosive row between its rector and her parishioners – one that has made national headlines and torn the church and the town in two. On an early summer's afternoon in the centre of town, the church is locked and the surrounding roads are quiet. With my notebook and a photographer in tow, a dog walker eyes me warily. The people of Malpas are not used to the media attention. Parochial disputes like this also do not usually make it out of the pages of the Church Times, but the heated battle for St Oswald's, a 14th-century church set atop a hill in the centre of Malpas, has unfolded in a spectacularly dramatic fashion. Once you get people started on the subject, the floodgates open. A vocal group of parishioners and former lay people claim that the Rev Dr Janine Arnott, the rector in question, has taken what was a thriving rural parish – an increasing rarity in the Church of England – and put its flock asunder. She is variously accused of banning individuals from the choir (it has since been disbanded entirely), removing the chief bellringer, barring access to the bell tower with 'broomsticks', and has reportedly overseen the dwindling of the congregation of around 60 to fewer than 10 people. 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In fact, the tower captain, Ben Kellett, had apparently found himself locked out of the tower after declining Arnott's request to sign a 'volunteer' agreement outlining his duties. Arnott had also asked Kellett for a list of churchgoers with keys to the tower and, it is claimed, took issue when he did not provide one. Several parishioners wrote to the Bishop of Cheshire, the Right Rev Mark Tanner, hoping to persuade him to intervene, and even filed an 'informal' complaint, which wasn't upheld. Now, an insurgent group of Malpas parishioners or allies – their identities remain unknown – have taken matters into their own hands, and Tanner has had to intervene after 'libellous' flyers signed from the 'Little Malpas People' were plastered around Chester Cathedral over Easter. One of the flyers, glued to the exterior of the cathedral with permanent adhesive, said: 'Dear Bishop Mark. Please do your moral duty and protect your flock. 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One churchgoer, meanwhile, told The Telegraph that she has been so upset by the rector's behaviour that she can't speak about the dispute without getting a nosebleed. The rift began with an unlikely argument over the Agnus Dei. In a meeting with the church choir in 2023 that has since become infamous locally, Arnott told them they could no longer sing this prayer (which often precedes Communion) in Latin as they had done for years, as this was against canon law. Diana Webber, a former safeguarding officer, resigned over this disagreement and Arnott's handling of relationships with parishioners. From the start, she was 'very concerned about [Arnott's] attitude,' Webber says, claiming that Arnott 'appeared to have taken a dislike to the choir.' A PCC meeting was called shortly afterwards – unfortunately, on Palm Sunday, the first day of Holy Week, despite protestations from members of the council. 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And that was considered 'vexatious'.' Despite losing a vote of confidence, Arnott remained in post. Smith was subsequently asked by Arnott to step down from her roles, including as the parish newsletter's editor (Arnott made clear, though, that she was welcome to continue worshipping at the church). 'I thought that was quite excessive and had nothing to do with the fact that I had published, or attempted to publish the minutes,' she says. 'I left the church at that point [… ] My husband and I have been married for 45 years and have been churchgoers for that whole time. Now we no longer go to any church.' Most of the existing church laypersons eventually resigned or were asked to leave. They carry with them a range of grievances and accusations, some more reasonable than others. Among the complaints is the disbanding of a longstanding, talented church choir. 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