Snowmobiler dangles 20 feet above bottom of mine shaft in Utah. See ‘difficult’ rescue
A snowmobiler drove into a vertical mine shaft and dangled 20 feet above the bottom, Utah rescuers said.
Rescuers got a call about a 53-year-old man who accidentally drove his snowmobile into the shaft around 10:15 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 2, Wasatch County Search & Rescue said on Facebook.
“This person and his snowmobile were hanging about 20 feet above the bottom of the shaft,” rescuers said. “The injuries and very remote location required immediate evacuation via Lifeflight.”
A photo shows the snowmobile wedged into a hole with collapsed snow around the opening. A person who appears to be a rescuer leans against the snowmobile’s treads as they try to access or talk to the driver.
“How scary,” someone commented under the photo.
“What a difficult recovery,” another person said.
The Wasatch High Angle rescue team was able to extract him from the mine shaft. Officials did not provide information about the man’s injuries or condition.
It is apparently not the first time this has happened in that exact Soapstone Basin mine shaft, residents said on Facebook.
Several people questioned why the mine shaft’s opening was not covered or clearly marked in the snow.
“Cover the dang thing, that’s twice,” someone said.
Another person shared an anecdote about the time they fell into the same opening some 20 years ago.
“I fell in this same mine shaft in the early 2000s, but my snowmobile got wedged in the top so I didn’t fall in it,” someone wrote. “Brings back memories!”
Someone from Wasatch County Search & Rescue replied saying they remembered that incident.
Soapstone Basin is about a 60-mile drive southeast from Salt Lake City.
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