Jason Koch is rescued after being trapped for 12 hours
A hiker who was trapped under a boulder for 12 hours was rescued after he used a penknife to cut his trousers open to grab a phone and call for help.
Jason Koch, 48, slipped while searching for a missing drone near Calistoga, California on Monday.
‘"Something slams into me and I have moments of excruciating pain," he told CBS News.
"I found that my left arm was stuck down under below me. I’m kind of laying with my chest sort of flat, but my hips kind of rotated sort of sideways. So it’s a really weird position to be laying in."
He was pinned by a boulder. Immobile and with his left arm trapped, he was helpless as the temperature dropped.
Determined not to panic, he slowed his breathing down as he weighed up his options.
He drew inspiration from a film called "127 hours" in which a trapped climber amputates his arm to break free and call for help.
AMAZING RESCUE: Trapped Hiker Jason Koch Talks With CBS News' Jamie Yucc… https://t.co/v7kr19BFNC via @YouTube
— M. Philip Oliver (@MPhilipOliver) November 27, 2020
Fortunately for Mr Koch, he did not have to adopt such desperate measures.
He was able to reach his penknife, which he used to cut his trousers open and grab his phone.
Mr Koch then had to work out how to get out from under the boulder. First, he managed to get his helmet off and then with some wriggling he was able to extricate himself from his rucksack.
‘Then I was able to bring my arms up and I was able to back backwards out of my backpack and at that point I was able to get out from underneath the rock."
The next step was to grab a branch and start digging the earth away from around the rock, which he shoved into a ditch so he could free himself.
Despite battery-life draining on his phone, Mr Koch was able to call the police. But with the awkward terrain and his injuries, it was decided to wait until dawn before completing the rescue.
Mr Koch was taken to a nearby hospital where he has been recovering.
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