California hiker rescued after being stuck under massive boulder for almost 7 hours

A man, who was stuck underneath a boulder estimated to weigh between 6,000 and 10,000 pounds in California's Inyo Mountains, was rescued after being stranded for almost seven hours, officials said.

The hiker, who was not identified, was found in the short mountain range, located east of the Sierra Nevada in eastern California, in "great pain with his left leg pinned beneath a large boulder on a steep hillside" on Tuesday afternoon, the Inyo County Search and Rescue reported in a press release.

The Inyo County Search and Rescue release said that the Inyo County Sheriff's Office alerted the group of the accident and an intense search operation, including a helicopter, was launched to rescue the hiker.

"Using a system of ropes, pulleys, and leverage, the SAR team was able to shift the boulder enough to free the hiker and assess and stabilize his injuries," said the rescue service.

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Injured hiker airlifted to Fresno

The hiker was airlifted in a Navy helicopter from the hillside to a hospital in Fresno after midnight, despite the darkness, due to the seriousness of the hiker’s injuries and the difficulty of the terrain.

"No suitable helicopter landing zones were near the location, so a US Navy medic rappelled from the helicopter to the scene, and the injured hiker and medic were hoisted into the helicopter and flown to Fresno for treatment after midnight," said the press release.

The rescue teams signed out of the operation early next morning at 4 a.m.

An update on the hiker's injuries and health was not provided. Inyo SAR did not immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for more information.

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Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.