A man from Georgia who broke an ankle while hiking a remote section of the Appalachian Trail in Maine was airlifted to safety Wednesday.

Patrick Burnes, 59, of Buford, Georgia, was hiking south near Mount Carlo with a small party of hikers when he broke his ankle, said Cpl. John MacDonald, spokesman for the Maine Warden Service.

The Warden Service was notified at 10:45 a.m. Because the accident happened near the Maine-New Hampshire border, Maine game wardens and two New Hampshire conservation officers worked together to get Burnes two miles to a carry-out point.

A Maine Forest Service helicopter removed Burns from the mountain around 6:10 p.m. He was taken to Androscoggin Valley Hospital in Berlin, New Hampshire.

Assisting in the rescue were Mahoosuc Search and Rescue, Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue, the U.S. Forest Service and Berlin, New Hampshire, EMS.


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