Firefighters from several departments are working to help a man who suffered a leg injury while hiking in the White Tanks mountains.
The man, who was not identified, told firefighters he had been out hiking since 3:30 p.m. in the Skyline Recreation Area. He said he impaled his leg when he fell around 5:30 p.m.
The man said he had to hunt for cell phone reception, and firefighters were not called until around 8:30.
The 44-year-old hiker did not know what trail he was on, so firefighters told him to illuminate his phone and wave it around. First responders were able to see the light and determined he had been on the Turnbuckle Trail, and was 150-200 feet from the trail on a peak.
Rescuers were able to airlift him to the base of the mountain and have an ambulance transport him to the hospital.
Photo from @dannybavaro shows helicopter landing with patient as paramedics approach to transfer to ambulance. pic.twitter.com/uL90vRtXog
— ABC15 Arizona (@abc15) July 29, 2016
Officials said they also did not believe the hiker had any water with him.
