Sole survivor of a 400-foot rock climbing fall told 911 dispatcher he could 'hardly breathe'

A stone climber who survived a agelong autumn that killed his 3 companions hiked backmost to his car contempt superior injuries and told a 911 dispatcher that helium could “hardly breathe,” according to a signaling obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.

Anton Tselykh and his climbing partners were descending a gully betwixt towering granite spires successful Washington's North Cascades mountains connected Saturday evening erstwhile an anchor securing their ropes tore retired the rock. All 4 plummeted hundreds of feet.

Tselykh mislaid consciousness and awoke respective hours aboriginal successful a tangle of ropes. He managed to trek to his car implicit snowy and rocky terrain and thrust astir 40 miles (64 kilometers) to the unincorporated assemblage of Newhalem, wherever helium called 911 aboriginal Sunday.

He apologized to the dispatcher for his dependable and said helium could hardly breathe. He reported that 3 of his companions had been killed successful the fall, but helium could lone find 2 of their bodies successful the dark.

"The full squad went down," Tselykh said. “We fundamentally slid and rolled down, similar each of us, to the bottommost of the couloir and a small spot lower." A couloir is simply a sheer gully that runs down a mountain.

Despite suffering encephalon trauma and different superior interior injuries, helium told the dispatcher that helium didn't deliberation helium needed contiguous aesculapian help.

“My look is precise good beaten, hands and my ribs, I tin hardly breathe,” said Teslykh. “But I consciousness OK, I mean, I don’t request emergency.”

The dispatcher asked him to enactment were helium was truthful that medics could cheque him retired and authorities could instrumentality his report. He was aboriginal hospitalized.

By Wednesday morning, helium was successful satisfactory information astatine Seattle's Harborview Medical Center, meaning helium was not successful the intensive attraction unit, Susan Gregg, a spokeswoman for UW Medicine, said successful an email.

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