In harrowing rescue, 2 saved from pickup dangling over deep Idaho gorge

By REBECCA BOONE, Associated Press 9 hrs ago



This image provided by the Idaho State Police shows the scene where authorities say a set of camp trailer safety chains and quick, careful work by emergency crews saved two people after their pickup truck plunged off a bridge, leaving them dangling above a deep gorge in southern Idaho on Monday, March 15, 2021.

Idaho State Police via AP

By REBECCA BOONE, Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Authorities say a set of camp trailer safety chains and quick, careful work by emergency crews saved two people after their pickup truck plunged off a bridge, leaving them dangling above a deep gorge in southern Idaho.

Idaho State Police responded to the accident at about 2:45 p.m. Monday, said ISP spokeswoman Lynn Hightower. A trooper found a man and a woman inside the pickup truck that was dangling, nose-down, off the side of the bridge spanning the Malad Gorge. The gorge is narrow but is roughly 100 feet deep below the bridge, roughly the height of a 10-story building. The gorge reaches about 250 feet deep at its deepest point.

The only thing keeping the 2004 Ford F-305 pickup from falling was the set of "safety chains" attaching the 30-foot camper trailer, which remained on the bridge, to the pickup. A state trooper and local sheriff's deputy first used an additional set of chains from a nearby semi-truck to help support the dangling pickup truck, holding it in place until additional rescuers with cranes, rope rescue gear and other equipment could arrive.

Emergency crews were then able to rappel down to the hanging truck and attach a harness to each occupant, allowing them to be safely carried back to the bridge. Both were taken to hospitals, and neither appeared to have life-threatening injuries, Hightower said. Two small dogs inside the pickup were also safely rescued, and taken to the home of a nearby family member. ... Workers were still attempting to pull the pickup from the precipice Monday evening.

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