EISPIRATEN

Another 1 bites the dust!
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French hiker falls 45 metres on Vancouver mountain
Last Updated: Thursday, August 6, 2009 | 7:18 AM PT
cbc news!

A French hiker was badly injured Wednesday morning after falling 45 metres on a mountain near Vancouver.

The man was climbing the West Lion, part of a mountain range on Vancouver's North Shore, with another person when he slipped and fell at about 10 a.m. PT Wednesday.

Rescue officials say the man was free falling for part of the descent.

The other hiker used his cell phone to call 911.

Tim Jones with North Shore Search and Rescue said his team arrived on scene, along with a doctor and paramedic, several hours later to help the man.

"The patient was sedated and given morphine for his injuries, one of which was a very severe compound fracture in his lower leg," Jones said.

"[It was] one of the worst compound fractures they say they've ever seen. So, this guy was quite badly injured from their point of view."

The injured hiker, who is in his 20s, was airlifted off the mountain on a rope dangling from a helicopter.

He was taken to Vancouver General Hospital.

SAN DIEGO -- Friends and family Thursday were mourning a married 67-year-old Rancho San Diego man who collapsed and died while climbing Cowles Mountain.

A group of fellow hikers found Raymond Newsom Mathias Jr. passed out on a path on the mountain in Mission Trails Regional Park shortly before 3:30 p.m. Wednesday and called 911, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department and the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office.

Witnesses said Mathias was on his second or third trip up the mountain when he collapsed, the Medical Examiner's Office reported.

One of the hikers who found Mathias performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation until a city helicopter crew arrived over the area and lowered a medic to the ground so he could take over the revival efforts, San Diego fire-rescue spokesman Maurice Luque said.

Mathias was pronounced dead at the scene about 4 p.m., Luque said.

There were no signs of trauma, foul play or suspicious circumstances, according to the Medical Examiner's Office. The cause of death was pending.

The high temperature on the western side of the mountain Wednesday was 87 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

http://www.10news.com/news/20301350/detail.html
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Related story:
Hiker dies, girl rescued from Cowles Mountain