GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — Emergency crews were called to Crowders Mountain State Park Friday morning after a man fell 70 feet from the mountain, paramedics said.
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According to Gaston EMS, they received a 911 call around 8 a.m. that someone had fallen near the Backside Trail on the mountain.
(Listen below to the 911 call)
Officials said two hikers were climbing the trail and were taking pictures near the climbing wall of the mountain when one of them lost his balance and fell 70 feet down the wall.
Rescue crews carried the injured man 100 feet up the side of the wall and then another 400 feet down the mountain to an ambulance.
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Channel 9's partners at the Gaston Gazette reported that the man fell from the top of Crowders Mountain moments after his boyfriend said he had taken his photograph.
Hector Calix told the paper he and Navas Delcid, both from Long Island, New York, stopped at the state park while passing through as they returned home from Miami.
Calix said he has a sister who lives in Cherryville.
Tom Shay said he’s climbed Crowders Mountain 100 times and hikers need to be careful near the cliffs.
“There are several ledges that are cliff facing, which means it’s a 100-foot fall on the side, and the rock is a decomposed granite. It’s not the right rock to be on in the rain.”
Paramedics were able to reach the man and transported him to the hospital with serious injuries. Channel 9 learned he was in stable condition as of Friday afternoon.
Check back with wsoctv.com for updates on this story.