A California man who reportedly fell 1,000 feet down a Hawaiian mountainside while hiking earlier this month was rescued after three days in the wilderness — in what the hiker described as a “miracle.”
Ian Snyder, 34, was hiking alone Dec. 4 on the Koʻolau Peak Trail when he fell a fifth of a mile off the side of the steep and dangerous trail, according to CNN.
“It’s a miracle first and foremost,” Snyder said at a press conference last Tuesday, according to ABC.
“I’m happy to be here – very happy to be here – and happy to be in a big part of the division … I never expected a day of climbing like this to go the way it did.”
Before the fall — which knocked the father of three unconscious and left him with a broken arm and a swollen eye — he had made it through what was considered one of the most challenging hikes on Oahu.
“I was in good shape and was able to steer well,” Snyder said. “I looked down at Pali Highway and said, ‘Man, that’s way below me and I’ve got to get down there,’ that was my plan.”
It didn’t work out that way.
Ian Snyder, 34, was rescued three days after he fell 1,000 feet from a mountain trail in Hawaii. KITV The California man has hiked what is widely seen as one of the toughest routes on Oahu. All Tracks
When Snyder woke up after the fall, he didn’t know what happened, what time or how long he had been out.
“I don’t remember if it was day or night the first time I came,” Snyder said.
But he remembered being cold as he lay near the bottom of the waterfall. The badly injured man dragged himself closer to the river, then hid from the wind between two rocks, CNN said.
The river water kept him alive, and Snyder said he never gave up. However, he made peace with God just in case.
At a press conference, Snyder thanked the rescuers who brought him to safety after the devastating fall. KITV Snyder also saluted members of the Honolulu EMS unit who helped save him. KITV
“I want to live, so I don’t give up the will to live,” he said.
His family reported him missing when he didn’t return from a hike, ABC said.
Fortunately, Snyder had posted photos and videos on social media before he fell, which helped rescuers find his location using the phone’s geolocation.
First responders from Honolulu found him three days later, on December 7, near where he fell.
Rescuers were able to estimate his location because Snyder had posted photos to his social media accounts. Ian Snyder / X
Snyder said he realized they were looking for him when he awoke to the sound of a rescue helicopter flying low nearby.
“We couldn’t believe it, he was waving his arms to get our attention,” Honolulu fire captain Adrian Carvalho said, adding that crews lifted the broken man to safety.
Despite the injuries — including chest trauma and a puncture wound to his leg — Snyder said he’s on the mend.
Snyder later said he was amazed he lived through the ordeal. All Tracks
“My hope is in a few weeks, I’ll be back to normal,” Snyder said.
However, he was surprised that he lived through the ordeal.
“I don’t believe it when people tell me, ‘You fell a thousand feet down that cliff,'” Snyder said. “And I was like, ‘How am I going to survive?'”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
