Four Fort Carson soldiers were injured after a Blackhawk helicopter from the post made a hard landing in a wooded area in Douglas County Wednesday afternoon.
The soldiers were part of the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson said in a news release. The helicopter was on a routine training mission when the incident happened.
At a press conference in Castle Rock Wednesday night, officials for Douglas County and Fort Carson did not release the conditions of the injured, though none of the injuries were considered life-threatening.
All were taken to Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs. Two were released Wednesday evening and the other two were being held overnight.
“At least four members of our Armed Services today are very, very lucky,” said Steve Johnson, a deputy chief with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office.
The hard landing was reported about 4 p.m. The helicopter went down in U.S. Forest Service land south of Colorado 67 and Rampart Range Road, said Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock.
Douglas County emergency responders got word of the incident from the military flight dispatch center, Spurlock said.
One of the four on board the helicopter had a cell phone and called for help. But the remoteness of the area and spotty cell phone coverage made it difficult to pinpoint the site. Once they found the site, rescue teams hiked for about 30 minutes before locating the chopper.
Two medical helicopters were “frantically searching” for the downed chopper, Johnson said.
The area is close to where Douglas, El Paso and Elbert counties merge.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822, knicholson @denverpost.com or kierannicholson
