The orange jump-suited rescuers are first seen leaving the ground, suspended beneath a helicopter. They land near the crumpled figure of a 61-year-old Stillwater woman, injured on rugged terrain during a hike near Lake Superior.
The two rescuers wrap her in a mummy-shaped carrier, then the three are lifted and carried to safety.
The bird's-eye view of the rescue mission was captured with a small camera attached to the helmet of a member of the Minnesota Aviation Rescue Team over Split Rock State Park Monday.
The Lake County Rescue Squad had been first to respond to a call for help at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park on Lake Superior's north shore. Lori Mildon, the hiker, was unable to walk and stranded on a trail that was best reached by air. So the aviation rescue team, a partnership between the St. Paul Fire Department and the Minnesota State Patrol, was called in. "The topography in the terrain was very challenging in that area to try and get someone, actually get them out," St. Paul Fire Capt. Alan Gabriele said. "And you'd risk further injuring the patient and potentially the rescuers."