Members of the Carter County Rescue Squad ran two simultaneous rescue and recovery operations over the weekend.
Around noon on Sunday, the CCRS’s Technical Rescue Team was called out to rescue an injured swimmer at Twisting Falls, a popular remote waterfall and swimming hole located in the Elk Mills community.
When rescuers received the call they were told there was one patient who had been injured but when they hiked in to the falls they found they actually had two patients. Both of the injured persons had jumped from the falls into the water and one lost consciousness at the scene, rescue workers said.
When the CCRS arrived on scene though, both patients were alert and oriented and were able to walk out under their own power.
In total, the rescue efforts there lasted about three hours from the time the Rescue Squad was called until the patients were transported to a local hospital.
About the same time as rescuers were summoned to Twisting Falls, the Rescue Squad received a request for assistance in Avery County, N.C. That call sent rescuers to Elk River Falls, which is upstream and across the state line from Twisting Falls.
A female swimmer at Elk River Falls had jumped from the waterfall into the plunge pool below and did not resurface, rescuers said. Avery County emergency responders contacted the CCRS and requested assistance from divers to help locate and retrieve the body of the woman, whose identity was not released.
Rescuers from the CCRS spent about four-and-a-half to five hours assisting Avery County in the recovery effort.
A total of 17 rescuers helped with operation at Twisting Falls while four divers and two ground support personnel responded to the request for assistance at Elk River Falls.