A hiker required an urgent blood transfusion in the middle of a forest after falling 45ft off a mountain.
The woman, who has not yet been identified, was on top of Hawksbill Mountain in North Carolina on Sunday evening when she dramatically fell.
Emergency services were called at around 7pm after receiving reports of the hiker falling after getting too close to the edge.
After getting in contact with the hiker, emergency services believed the severity of injuries suffered meant the woman was going to need a whole blood transfusion before being moved from the foot of the mountain.
The woman had to be stablished by the ambulance crew as Burke Rescue set up a horizontal raise to help bring back the hiker to the top of the mountain.
But due to high winds on top of the mountain the possible use of a helicopter rescue was too dangerous as emergency services concluded the hiker had to be carried off the mountain.
The joint effort from emergency services saw the hiker being lifted from the woods where she was met by a helicopter which was able to land safely.
An ambulance crew were ready to meet the hiker off at the Hawksbill parking area.
Captain Burke Browning, from Burke Emergency Services, said: “In that area, the mountain is rugged.
"The place she fell in was quite rugged so they did have to do quite a bit of work to get her out.”
The flight nurses onboard the helicopter hiked into the woods with blood transfusion bags as they met rescue crews on the way to the woman.
According to Captain Burke Browning, the blood transfusion was a success and the hiker was able to leave the woods at around 1am.
Emergency crews then transferred the hiker to a specialise trauma centre where the woman was treated for her injuries.
The blood transfusion was thought to be the first delivered in the Linville Gorge, according to Burke County Search and Rescue.
Meanwhile, the rescue service are also working with local hospitals in the area to help bring more specialise equipment for rescue emergencies.
The successful rescue mission comes just days after firefighters in California rescued a person who fell more than 150ft down a cliff overlooking San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge.
Emergency services were called just after 5am on Saturday to an observation deck that looks across at the Golden Gate Bridge.
The victim was found conscious by firefighters after they were able to set up a rope system which allowed them to be lifted up the cliff.
Fortunately, the victim only suffered minor injuries but was taken to Marin General Hospital for further treatment.
