A 10-year-old boy has died in Arizona after being rescued from South Mountain, prompting officials to warn about the dangers of hiking in extreme heat, fire officials confirmed to Fox News Digital.
According to Phoenix Police Department Public Affairs Sergeant Brian Bower, crews were called just before 3 p.m. local time on Tuesday to the Mormon Trailhead on South Mountain, a centrally located mountain range in south Phoenix.
Authorities said that a boy was experiencing heat-related issues while hiking along the trail.
Footage obtained by FOX 10 showed a helicopter airlifting the child from the trail.
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Officials said that they found the boy about a mile up the trail, and he was airlifted down the mountain before being transported to the hospital.
“Police helicopter pilots assisted the fire department with an active mountain rescue and airlifted the 10-year-old victim from the mountain to an awaiting ambulance,” Bower said.
Firefighters previously said that initial reports indicated that the boy was on the trail for several hours, possibly since mid-morning before crews were called.
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In an updated statement, police said that the boy was taken to the hospital in critical condition and later died as a result of a heat-related medical event.
“Further details into what led to this tragic incident are under investigation,” police said.
The heat-related incident comes as Arizona — and the majority of the U.S. — has been impacted by sweltering high heat levels.
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According to officials from the National Weather Service, Phoenix is experiencing a “severe weather alert” for high heat.
The high reached 113 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday, which is 6 degrees above average.
Phoenix officials are urging both residents and visitors to be aware of the level of difficulty some trails on South Mountain present.
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“Some of these trails on South Mountain are pretty difficult. They’re pretty long, and if you’re an inexperienced hiker potentially from out of town, you may not be aware of the level of difficulty or how difficult they are,” DuBois said.
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