Firefighters rescue woman injured while hiking at Hole in the Rock

A woman seriously injured her ankle after falling near the top of Hole in the Rock trail in Papago Park and had to be lowered off the mountain with a harness, according to the Phoenix Fire Department.

Rescue teams responded to a call at about 1:30 p.m. Sunday and found a woman injured near a steep angle on the mountain.

The woman was hiking with a group of friends when she twisted her ankle, officials said.

“It was a steep area around the corner on the north, northeast corner of the Hole in the Rock,” said David Ramirez, spokesperson for the Phoenix Fire Department. “So where she was, it was difficult. There’s no way for us to safely walk her off the mountain, down the trail.”

Rescuers initiated a “steep-angle rescue” to get the woman off the mountain.

Rescuers tethered up to the steep area and secured her via a harness, which was used to lower her to safety. The woman was taken to a nearby hospital with a possible sprain and visual deformities in her ankle.

The incident marks the second time in approximately two months someone has been rescued while hiking at Hole in the Rock trail.

In February, a man died from critical injuries after falling 40 feet on Hole in the Rock trail.

Rescuers had to secure him via a “big wheel” stretcher, which is a gurney-like stretcher with a single wheel below for support. The man wastaken to a nearby hospital, where he died the next day.

The heavily trafficked trail is known for its view of Phoenix but also for its series of openings along its sandstone formation.