Injured Man Hoisted To Safety By Helicopter Crew In Menifee

MENIFEE, CA — A man was injured Wednesday in a remote area of Menifee that firefighters could not immediately access, requiring a sheriff's helicopter crew to hoist him to safety.

The inaccessible rescue operation was initiated about 2:15 p.m. in the area of Bell Mountain and Holland roads, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.

The agency said that the victim, whose identity was not released, suffered an unspecified minor injury that left him unable to walk under his own power. He called 911 for help.

He was in an area without paved or dirt roads, so fire crews were unable to use their vehicles to reach him, prompting a request for assistance from the sheriff's STAR-9 Airbus helicopter crew.

The chopper reached the location shortly before 3 p.m. and hoisted the man to a makeshift landing zone, where he was placed in an ambulance and taken to a hospital for treatment, according to officials at the scene.

The rescue operation was completed by 3:10 p.m., when crews cleared the area.