UNDERHILL, Vt. -
Several people are recovering after being hurt while hiking Mt. Mansfield Friday.
Police say three 12-year-olds and two people in their fifties were hurt in similar but separate accidents.
"It was all just slip and falls. Twisted ankles, landed on a wrist, that kind of thing," says Dan Manz, Essex Rescue executive director.
Of the five, two were taken to the hospital. Police say a 12-year-old girl hurt her ankle about half-way up the Sunset Ridge Trail. Rescue crews carried her down to waiting ambulance.
Rescuers say a 51-year-old woman also injured her ankle, but she was at the summit around 1:00pm. It took some five-hours to get her down to an ambulance.
Underhill & Jericho Fire Department Duty Officer Harry Schoppmann says in a typical summer there are two to five rescues. That's why he says five people needing help is unusual for Vermont's highest mountain.
"With that many people that were hurt, obviously we needed more resources," says Schoppmann.
Schoppmann says 12 departments were called and a force of fifty volunteers arrived.
As for why so many people were injured, especially 12-year-olds, there were two schools that had trips to the mountain. Although police and rescuers would not confirm if the injured hikers were from the schools.
