Gregory Robinson
A teenager who slipped off a cliff at the Grand Canyon during a vacation with his mom has lived to tell the tale.
Wyatt Kauffman, 14, shared all the details he can remember after falling nearly 100 feet when trying to dodge a photo being taken by tourists, while at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon on Tuesday (August 8).
“I was up on the ledge and was moving out of the way so other people could take a picture,” he told Arizona news station 12 News from his hospital bed after being flown to a hospital in Las Vegas.
“I squatted down, and when I was, holding on to a rock. I only had one hand on it. It wasn’t that good of a grip. It was kinda pushing me back. I lost my grip and started to fall back,” he added.
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“After the fall, I don’t remember anything after that. I just remember somewhat waking up and being in the back of an ambulance and a helicopter and getting on a plane and getting here.
“I squatted down and was holding onto a rock. I only had one hand on it,” the teen recalled. “It wasn’t that good of a grip. It was kind of pushing me back. I lost my grip and started to fall back.”
Nearly 40 first responders worked with the National Park Service to propel down the cliff at Bright Angel trail to get to Kauffman. The rescue mission took two hours and once they got to him, they rescued him from the canyon in a basket, the news station reports.
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Kauffman is lucky to be alive and has a long road to recovery after suffering several severe injuries, including nine broken vertebrae, a ruptured spleen, a concussion, collapsed lung, a broken hand and a dislocated finger.
One side of his face is covered in scars and bruises, however, his father Brian Kauffman gave a promising update, telling the news station on Friday (August 11) that the facial injuries look ‘a lot better than it did yesterday’.
“Two hours is an eternity in a situation like that, but when they have to [propel] down the cliff and get them out of the out of the canyon in a basket. We’re extremely grateful for the work of everyone,” Kauffman, who was at home in North Dakota when the accident happened, said.
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"It was one of the most heart-wrenching phone calls I've ever had to be honest with you.”
The relieved dad added: “We're just lucky we're bringing our kid home in a car in the front seat. Instead of in a box.”