Snowmobiler rescued after crashing into abandoned Wasatch County mine shaft

A search and rescue team rescues a snowmobiler after the snowmobiler crashed into a vertical mine shaft at Soapstone Basin on Sunday.

A search and rescue team rescues a snowmobiler after the snowmobiler crashed into a vertical mine shaft at Soapstone Basin on Sunday. (Wasatch County Search and Rescue)


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KAMAS — A 53-year-old man was rescued after emergency responders say he crashed into a vertical mine shaft while snowmobiling in Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest over the weekend.

Wasatch and Summit search and rescue crews responded to a report that a snowmobiler was caught in an abandoned mine shaft in Soapstone Basin shortly before 10:20 a.m. on Sunday, according to Wasatch County Search and Rescue.

Rescue crews said the man had been riding a snowmobile near the Wasatch-Summit county line when he accidentally rode into the vertical mine shaft.

"This person and his snowmobile were hanging about 20 feet above the bottom of the shaft," agency officials wrote in an incident report Sunday night.

The teams spent more than five hours reaching the site and rescuing the man. Officials said the man was flown from the site by medical helicopter to a nearby hospital because of the extent of his injuries and the "very remote location" of the crash. Officials did not disclose the man's current condition, nor did they disclose his injuries.

Wasatch County officials said the Wasatch County Sheriff's Office, South Summit Emergency Medical Service and Utah Division of State Parks also assisted in the rescue.

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Carter Williams is a reporter for KSL.com. He covers Salt Lake City, statewide transportation issues, outdoors, the environment and weather. He is a graduate of Southern Utah University.
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