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The incident happened around 12:15 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 14 in Mount Washington, New Hampshire.
Officials say that the man from New Haven County, a 66-year-old Naugatuck resident, was hiking the Jewell Trail with his sons when he suddenly collapsed more than 2 miles up from the Base Station parking lot,
His sons immediately started CPR and called 911, said Lieutenant Mark Ober of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department.
Fish and Game Conservation officers were alerted to the emergency and started the rescue response.
The National Guard helicopter crew arrived at approximately 2:50 p.m. but was unable to reach the area on the Jewell Trail due to the low and thick cloud cover, said Ober.
Conservation officers on the scene attempted to guide the helicopter to the hiker, but the thick cloud cover and lack of visibility prevented them from getting close enough.
After several attempts, the helicopter was getting low on fuel and had to fly to the Berlin Airport to refuel, Ober said.
At this time it was not clear that the helicopter could safely extract the hiker, so Fish and Game called in for additional help for the carryout of the hiker.
Multiple volunteers answered the call for help, Ober said.
During the time the helicopter was refueling, a front moved in and pushed the thick clouds out of the area, clearing the way for the helicopter to hover above the hiker.
When the helicopter arrived back on station, they lowered a crew member and a litter down to the scene and were able to lift the hiker.
"Unfortunately, despite the exhaustive efforts by the hiker’s sons, who provided constant and tireless resuscitation efforts for over two hours, and the arrival of the National Guard helicopter, the hiker did not survive," Ober said.
The hiker, whose name is being withheld pending notification to extended family members, was attempting to summit Mount Washington with his three adult sons at the time of the incident.
This is a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
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