A 10-year-old boy is in critical condition in Arizona after being rescued from South Mountain, prompting officials to warn of the dangers of hiking in extreme heat, fire officials confirmed to Fox News Digital.
According to Phoenix Fire Capt. Shaun DuBois, crews were called around 2 p.m. local time Tuesday to the Mormon Trailhead on South Mountain, a mountain range centrally located in south Phoenix.
Authorities said a child was experiencing heat-related issues while walking on the trail.
“Early reports suggest that [the child] I was here with some relatives who may have been [visiting] “They're coming from out of town and may have been walking along the trail sometime around 9:30 a.m.,” DuBois told FOX 10 Phoenix.
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The young man was rescued by plane from the trail in Phoenix on Tuesday. (KSAZ)
Firefighters said they found the boy about a mile from the trail and he was airlifted down the mountain before being taken to the hospital.
Footage obtained by FOX 10 showed a helicopter carrying the boy off the trail.
Fire officials say reports indicate the boy was on the trail for several hours, possibly as early as mid-morning before crews were called.
The boy's identity and the extent of his injuries have not been released by police.
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The boy, identified as a 10-year-old, was found about a mile from the trail. (KSAZ)
The heat-related incident comes at a time when Arizona — and much of the United States — has been hit by sweltering levels of heat.
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Phoenix is experiencing a “severe weather advisory” for high temperatures, according to National Weather Service officials.
The high temperature reached 113 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday, 6 degrees above average.
Parts of the U.S., including Arizona, are under heat warnings or advisories as unrelenting, record-breaking temperatures continue to batter western and southern states. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
Phoenix officials are urging residents and visitors to be aware of the difficulty level of some trails on South Mountain.
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“Some of these trails on South Mountain are pretty difficult. They're pretty long, and if you're an inexperienced hiker who may not live in the city, you may not know the difficulty level or how hard they are,” DuBois said.
