Search and rescue workers were able to retrieve the body of a young man who fell on a cliff in the camp area near Las Piedras del Collado, also known as the “Tetas de Cayey” mountain, this morning. Bureau of Emergency Management and Disaster Management (PREMB).
Through a tweet, NMEAD shared pictures of the moment the body was recovered by rescue units located just after midnight.
Extraction was the culmination of long hours of work on a slope, which also put rescuers at risk.
“Work continued throughout the morning until the body of this young man was removed from here,” the NMEAD commissioner explained. Baby bar.
“Thank God he was able to heal. We found him at dawn and rescued him from such a difficult place. About 68 rescuers will be involved in” dissecting the body, “he added.
Authorities identified the teenager as René Hanftwurzel Lugo, 25, of Pyomon. His body will be sent to the Forensic Science Institute for an intensive autopsy.
Korea pointed out that he had been camping at the place with his girlfriend and some friends since the previous day Saturday. Then, at about 9:30 a.m. Sunday morning, he was in the process of breaking into the camp when he crashed.
“The young man was near a rock, he fainted, he went backwards, he went down the slope,” Correa explained.
“They told us he had epilepsy in the past, but his parents told us they were not common and that he had not had these episodes for a long time, so we did not know if that was the situation he was suffering from,” he added.
The official stressed that the total height of the rock was estimated at 1,000 meters, while calculating that the young man would have fallen 400 feet from the top.
The search led to the discovery of the body on top of a tree located on a cliff, which complicated the rescue operation. In addition to trying to find him, they spent more time learning how to operate.
Emergency management personnel from Aibonito, Cayey, Coamo, Salinas, Guayama, Santa Isabel, Morovis, Narajito, Humacao, Caguas, Yabucoa, Las Piedras, Ciales, Vega Baja, Arecibo and Utuado and Search and Puerto Rico Urban participated. The rescue, known as PRUSAR, is for firefighters and state medical emergencies.
They enlisted the cooperation of Puerto Rico Police and Border Patrol (CBP) helicopters in support of the search as they could not be extracted by air due to the conditions of the place.
“Where it fell, it was practically a cliff. When he fell on the tree, it was very difficult to move him from there and carry him on a stretcher. The young man was six feet two inches tall and weighed 250 pounds,” Korea explained.
“Parents came to the place … It was a very sad situation. Eric Rios, Director of Emergency Management Chaplains, was with them at all times and I want to thank them for being able to help us provide that support for them, ”he said.
Does not find the owner of the land
The NMEAD commissioner pointed out that he could not speak to any of the individuals responsible for the property that had been used for camping for decades.
However, he advised to be very careful in future camps to avoid such accidents.
“At these sites, camping in the vicinity is fraught with dangers. It is important to be very vigilant, to be very careful not to stick to any edge, and when there are conditions that can cause dizziness at altitude, it can cause it,” Korea said.
“And on the other hand, you should not walk on paths that you can see deeply. When we took that young man, as we said, he was very close to the edge, so, unfortunately, he might have put himself in danger,” he said.
Journalist Alex Fikurova collaborated on this story.