EL DORADO COUNTY, CA (KCRA/CNN) - A California Highway Patrol helicopter crew came to the rescue of a hiker who fell 30 feet.
Flying high in the Sierra at more than 7,900 feet, the CHP rescue team found a hiker with a dog, and below in the bushes, an injured woman.
The 27-year-old woman fell 30 feet after trying to save her dog that slipped on the mountainside.
"She was very fortunate that she landed on her backside, which gave her some injuries but ultimately the way she fell I think saved her life," pilot Bryan Souza said.
Souza responded to the call at Luther Rock, an advanced hiking spot near south Lake Tahoe yesterday just after noon.
"Her hands and tips of her fingers were pretty raw from grabbing onto rocks and bushes to stop herself. It was completely mangled on her hands," Souza said.
In addition to her tattered hands, the hiker suffered injuries to her ankle and shoulder.
To hoist her out, the rescue team lowered down a paramedic who strapped in the hiker before raising her to safety, much to her relief.
In a statement, she said, "CHP did a great job and I am very grateful for the people who helped me. It was an accident that could have happened to any hiker in the Sierra."
Rescuers said that if you find yourself in this situation there's an app on your phone that can save you.
Open up Compass app, and you can find the latitude and longitude on your phone - vital points you can then relay to the rescue team.
"That's a coordinate that we can use to help locate you in the time of an emergency," Souza said.
The hikers used it during their emergency, allowing rescuers to pinpoint their location.
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