UPDATE: Hiker Falls 40 Feet

Rainbow Falls is a favorite hiking destination in Chattanooga but Sunday, a hike to these falls on Signal Mountain turned tragic.

"We received a call at about one o’clock this afternoon from a friend that was with a high fall victim down here at Rainbow Falls, probably a fall of approximately 40 feet below," said Amy Maxwell with Hamilton County Emergency Medical Services. "The terrain is just real rugged and rocky and steep. And they’ll also have to have several units that are going in and cutting trees to make the extrication trail wider."

Rescue crews from several departments throughout Hamilton County took part in recovery efforts.

And the extrication of the 18-year-old male victim took over four hours.

"Anytime you’re a high fall, you’ve got injuries that could occur with your head and obviously with your internal injuries as well because you’re impacting the fall and then your body impacts the recovery of the fall," Maxwell said. "So it’s a slow process mainly because they’ve got to make sure that they secure the patient as tight as possible to alleviate any maneuver at all to cause any more injury to him."

Extreme caution was used to transport the victim to a Life Force helicopter waiting for him at the Signal Mountain Golf and Country Club before he was flown to Erlanger just before 6 p.m. Sunday.

The victim was conscious but in very serious condition.