Scene from the rescue. Courtesy/NMSP

NMSP News:

ALBUQUERQUE – The New Mexico State Police (NMSP) Aircraft Section rescued two individuals injured while hiking near the Embudo Trailhead.

At approximately 5 p.m. March 27, 2024, the crew of the NMSP Aircraft Section in Albuquerque launched from Double Eagle Airport to conduct a hoist rescue in the Sandia Mountains in Bernalillo County.

The information received from a NMSP Search and Rescue coordinator explained a rockslide occurred near the Embudo Trail Head in the Sandia Mountains. Three subjects were hurt during the rockslide. The coordinator explained one of the subjects had a head injury and lost consciousness for a brief time, the second subject had an open fracture to their leg, and the third subject had a sprained ankle.

The rescue crews on the ground were requesting the assistance of ABLE 7, the NMSP helicopter.

ABLE 7 arrived on scene and began coordinating with the ground crews of the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department Search and Rescue. Aboard ABLE 7 was a paramedic and two tactical flight officers (TFO). The paramedic and one TFO were hoisted down to the ground crews to assess the patients and clear a staging area for a landing zone for patient extraction. The other TFO remained on board the helicopter to receive the injured patients as they were hoisted up.

A short time later, the patients with the head injury and leg injury were hoisted up into the helicopter and flown to the landing zone and then offloaded into an awaiting ambulance where they were then transported to an area hospital. The patient with the ankle injury was escorted out by the Search and Rescue crews. The patients’ conditions are unknown.