Medivac Helicopter Landing on Pulpit Rock

Soon after Ken reached the top of Pulpit Rock and was looking around, he heard a helicopter.  At first he thought it was a sightseeing helicopter, viewing Pulpit Rock from the sky.  But it kept getting closer and closer.  Then he heard someone shouting, "Get back, Get back."  Everyone realized that the helicopter was going to land.

Everyone crowded back against the rock face.  Ken was near the front of the group, closest to the helicopter.  It was loud, and as it got closer it began to pelt everyone with dirt, rocks, and debris.  Ken took off his hat to cover and protect his face and watched through the little holes in the top of his hat.  It took a long time to land as the pilot was trying to place it carefully on top of the precipice. Ken realized that if the pilot made a mistake, he, and all those around him would be dead.  He was that close and there was no place to run.  It finally landed and the whirring blades stopped.  People started to move.  But the men in the helicopter yelled at them to hold still.  By then, they realized it was a medivac copter and they needed to locate the patient. They needed everyone to stay still so they could find him. Someone yelled, "Over here."   After they located him, they gratefully allowed people to move.  Ken and Tom moved to a higher vantage point to watch the drama. 

They helped the man to the helicopter and loaded him on, but soon, for some reason, changed their minds.  They put him back out on the rock. They worked on his chest.  Everyone surmised that he was having a heart attack.  You can see him here, with them attending to him.

Soon, they loaded him back on the helicopter and took off.  It was loud, but then, just like in the movies, it fell off the rock and the sound was gone.  Just like that!

It was quite the exciting addition to their already exciting day.  Both Ken and Tom took amazing video of all of this, but Blogger won't let me post it.  

We  later talked to the cruise director onboard the ship and she didn't know about the incident, so the patient was not on our cruise.  We hope he is okay.