On Tuesday, June 25, at approximately 12:20 pm, personnel at the Alaska Region Communication Center were notified a visitor was in distress in Denali National Park and Preserve.
A 70 year-old man from Berkeley, California collapsed suddenly while participating in a guided hike in the Kantishna area of the park.
Other participants on the hike sent a message from a satellite messenger/SOS device and immediately began CPR after determining the man was not breathing and did not have a pulse. Several personnel from private businesses in the Kantishna area responded with emergency equipment, including an AED, and helped to continue CPR for over an hour until the park’s medical director, based on reported signs and symptoms from the scene via satellite phone, recommended they stop CPR.
The Kantishna-area employees carried the victim from the scene to the Denali Park Road. Due to the remoteness of the location, it took several hours before National Park Service (NPS) personnel could reach the group and transport the victim by ambulance to the entrance area of the park.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
