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Man badly injured in gorge fall | Man badly injured in gorge fall |
(about 2 hours later) | |
A climber has suffered serious spinal injuries after falling in Cheddar Gorge in Somerset. | |
Police received reports at 1218 GMT that the man had fallen between 40ft and 50ft (12m to 15m). | Police received reports at 1218 GMT that the man had fallen between 40ft and 50ft (12m to 15m). |
The man, from Bristol, who is thought to have life-threatening injuries, was taken by coastguard helicopter to Frenchay Hospital. | |
He is believed to have been part of a party of five climbers. The other four men were escorted to safety. | |
Duncan Massey, chief rescue officer with Avon and Somerset Search and Rescue, said: "We were called by the police and the fire brigade to the incident in Cheddar Gorge. | |
About 40 fire officers were there and the whole gorge had been shut off by the police BBC reporter Matthew Hill | |
"All the information we had was that a male climber had fallen. I live close to Cheddar Gorge so I was first on the scene. | |
"The lad was very high up - about 400 feet up the cliff on a location called Heart Leaf Bluff. | |
"We called for a rescue helicopter and were allocated a coastguard helicopter from Portland which came within 30 minutes, lowered a stretcher and winched him to safety." | |
BBC reporter Matthew Hill, who was at the scene, said: "I was told he'd fallen 50ft and had been caught in a net but had suspected spinal injuries. | |
"About 40 fire officers were there and the whole gorge had been shut off by the police. | |
"I saw the coastguard helicopter hovering above the gorge and lowering a stretcher to the cliff rescue crew. | "I saw the coastguard helicopter hovering above the gorge and lowering a stretcher to the cliff rescue crew. |
"The stretcher swooped in along the line of the cliff and the man was winched off very quickly." | "The stretcher swooped in along the line of the cliff and the man was winched off very quickly." |
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