- A man believed to be named Matias was visiting California from Austria
- The man and his girlfriend were hiking in the Tahoe area with a friend who lives in Fairfield, California
- At the top of a point called Tinkers Knob, the man was struck by lightning while taking a photo on his phone
- A helicopter rescued him from the mountain and took him to a hospital
- He is badly burned and bruised but is in stable condition
An Austrian tourist who was hiking in a remote wilderness area of the Sierra Nevada in Northern California was rescued after surviving a lighting strike.
The man had major burns throughout his body and was struggling to walk. A paramedic officer had to help him to the helicopter.
As he was struck, the man was taking a picture. His phone survived and the picture has a bright orange and white stripe on it.
This photo was taken by the hiker as he was hit. Facebook user Dave Moylan posted a photo of the lightning strike in a group called I Love the Sierra. In the comments he says that the hiker’s name is Matias. Moylan claims his niece knows the hiker
A video posted to Facebook by the California Highway Patrol Valley Air Operations unit shows the hiker’s clothes that have holes burned in them
The hiker’s singed shoes are shown above. The photo was taken from the CHPVAO video
A helicopter crew rescued him on Tuesday at 2pm from the remote wilderness area of Tinkers Knob near Donner Summit, according to The California Highway Patrol Valley Air Operations.
The CHP says the hiker and his girlfriend are visiting from Austria and were hiking from Donner Summit to Squaw Valley with a friend from Fairfield, California.
His companions heard a large crack and saw a flash of light at the top of Tinkers Knob where the unidentified man was standing.
They called 911 for help.
The man was transported to Tahoe Forest Hospital for evaluation and stabilization. He sustained major burns throughout his body as a result of a lightning strike.
He was eventually flown to the UC Davis Burn Center for further treatment.
Facebook user Dave Moylan posted a photo of the lightning strike in a group. In the comments he says that the hiker’s name is Matias. Moylan claims his niece knows the hiker.
The CHPVAO included helicopter footage in the Facebook post about the incident
The hiker was reportedly having trouble walking when the helicopter got to him
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