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Helmet-Cam Captures Rescue Of Injured Botanist From San Clemente Island

(CBS)

AVALON (CBSLA.com) — A San Fernando Valley botanist was safe Tuesday after falling down a steep ravine on a remote island off the Southern California coast.

The unidentified 33-year-old Burbank man suffered the fall at around 11:30 a.m. Monday while working on indigenous plant re-introduction on San Clemente Island, about 60 miles off the coast of Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The victim suffered a severe leg injury after he fell approximately 20 feet down a steep 200-foot ravine and was unable to move out of what deputies described as a "precarious position."

Crews from LASD Air Rescue personnel and San Clemente Island Federal Fire Department Battalion 13 responded to the scene after a co-worker who witnessed the fall phoned for assistance.

Paramedics with LASD Special Enforcement Bureau Emergency Services Detail were lowered from a helicopter with a hoist to provide medical treatment. After treatment, the victim was hoisted into the helicopter and flown to Harbor UCLA Medical Center, where he is listed in stable condition.

San Clemente Island, which is officially a U.S. Navy island, is under the policing jurisdiction of Avalon Sheriff's Station of the LASD.

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