Coast Guard rescues man 800 feet down Crater Lake caldera

An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter lands at a Crater Lake parking area to transfer an injured man to AirLink Critical Care Transport, June 10, 2019. The man who was rescued reportedly fell approximately 800 feet into the caldera of Crater Lake near Rim Village. U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Sector North Bend.

The Coast Guard rescued a man who fell into the Crater Lake caldera, Monday afternoon, assisting the National Park Service and a District 3 Technical Rope Rescue Team.

An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew from Sector North Bend hoisted the man out of the caldera and transferred him to an AirLink Critical Care Transport team who flew the injured man to Bend for care and treatment.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector North Bend received a call at 3:47 p.m., from the Crater Lake National Park Service rangers requesting helicopter support for an injured man who fell into Crater Lake’s caldera near Rims Village. 

An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew, from Coast Guard Sector North Bend, flies over Crater Lake National Park, June 10, 2019. The aircrew was in the area to assist National Park Service personnel rescue a man who fell 800 feet down into the caldera of Crater Lake. U.S. Coast Guard photo courtesy of Sector North Bend.

The Coast Guard aircrew arrived on scene at 4:28 p.m. with the District 3 rope team already 600 feet down into the caldera. The District 3 team reported they could hear a man yelling from further down into the caldera. 

The aircrew was hovering above the injured man within 15 minutes of arriving on scene and conducted the hoist before landing in a nearby parking lot and transferring the injured man to the AirLink helicopter crew. The aircrew departed Crater Lake at 5:27 p.m., stopped in Roseburg to refuel and returned to North Bend.

The condition of the injured man is unknown at this time.

Press release provided from the US Coast Guard.