RALEIGH - Members of the N.C. National Guard and the NC Helicopter Aquatic Rescue Team lifted an injured rock climber out of a deep ravine of the Pisgah Mountains in Jackson County Sunday afternoon, March 9.

Christopher Wilcox, 35, of Tuckasegee, fell 50 feet in a 450-foot ravine, breaking his leg in multiple places. Local Emergency Services personnel were called to the Canada Area of Jackson County, north of Big Pisgah Mountain and the Jackson -Transylvania County line.

Because of the length of time and the difficulty in carrying out a high angle rope rescue, Jackson County Emergency Management Coordinator Todd Dillard contacted the N.C. Division of Emergency Management to request help from NCHART, the rescue helicopter team.

The mission was quickly approved and rescue technicians from Western North Carolina and a North Carolina National Guard flight crew from Salisbury arrived in Jackson County within two hours. The rescuers helped medical personnel secure Wilcox, and he was then hoisted into the aircraft and taken to a waiting ambulance.

“NCHART is a highly specialized rescue team, said Doug Hoell, director of the Division of Emergency Management. “I applaud them for this and other courageous rescues like the ones during hurricanes Frances and Ivan.”

NCHART is a mission-ready package comprised of members of the North Carolina Emergency Management Division, local emergency services volunteers from around the state and the North Carolina National Guard. The Guard supplies the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter, the hoist and rescue equipment and the radios that provide communications to emergency services ground personnel on any State Emergency Communications channel.