Crew members aboard a train helped an injured hiker to safety
The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad is known for old-fashioned transportation through stunning beauty; its journey travels along the Animas River and it was there a passenger spotted a woman on the bank calling for help.
Getting her out would be the challenge.
DeAnne Gallegos with Silverton Medical Rescue said it wasn't easy, "It took trains, helicopters and a professional search and rescue rope team."
The crew of one train notified the crew of another, which then arrived at the location. Engineer Nick Breeden and his wife Kylah, a conductor and fireman, came to the rescue.
Kylah said the woman was not in good shape, "Her leg was clearly injured and she was really cold. We gave her some blankets and some water."
The woman from Aztec, New Mexico in her 20s fell while taking pictures Sunday. She had spent the night in shorts with a broken leg in 20-degree weather.
Nick crossed the river to get to the woman and crossed it again to get back while passengers on the train waited patiently.
He said it was a difficult spot to reach without crossing the water, "Where she was there was no defined trail. She was near one, but you couldn't get to her without going straight down the side of a mountain."
Teams from Silverton Medical Rescue were able to rig up a way to transport the injured woman across the river to a waiting ambulance.
Nick Breeden does not feel like a hero, "I just feel what happened in the moment, it was the right thing to do. If I was stranded on the other side of the river or Kylah was, I would hope somebody would do the same for me."
After two days in the rugged wilderness, a helicopter transported the woman to a hospital- alive and grateful.
Railroad superintendent Darren Whitten said the train has been instrumental in several rescues in the past.
