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Man Rescued After 40-Foot Fall On Catalina Island

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Oct 30, 2009 7:22 am US/Pacific

Man Rescued After 40-Foot Fall On Catalina Island

TOPANGA Two recently-trained volunteer radio operators on Catalina Island rescued a man after he fell more than 40 feet onto rocks below, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's sergeant said today.

Karl Tso and his wife Deborah Ava, both of Topanga, are members of the
Topanga Disaster Radio Team, a part of the Topanga Coalition forEmergency
Preparedness, said Sgt. Tui Wright of the sheriff's Malibu-Lost Hills Station.

The couple had climbed a hill on Catalina Island to check out a repeater, when they spied a 61-year-old man bleeding and moaning from a fall more than 40 feet onto rocks below, sai Wright.

Fortunately, Tso and Ava had their hand-held HAM radios with them and used the equipment to make contact with other HAM radio operators on the mainland, who called 911 to report the emergency.

The couple's quick thinking and knowledge of HAM radio frequencies helped save the injured man's life, said Wright.

The incident occurred last weekend, Wright said, but he only found out about it Thursday.

After HAM radio operators on the mainland called 911, Los Angeles County
firefighter-medics responded and the unidentified injured man was flown by
helicopter to St Mary's Hospital in Long Beach that night for treatment.

His current condition is not known.

(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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