Eagle Times Staff
A Pennsylvania man died attempting to summit Mt. Madison, on Friday.
Jason Apreku, 21, of Stroudsburg, Pa., was hiking with friends on the Osgood Trail at around 4:30 p.m. when he experienced an unknown medical emergency and collapsed, according to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department.
His friend called 911 and performed CPR for an extended period of time. Appalachian Mountain Club personnel and passing hikers assisted in the life-saving effort that continued for hours in an attempt to save Apreku.
Due to the nature of the call, Fish and Game called on assistance from the New Hampshire Army National Guard which called crews back into service on Friday evening. The National Guard responded from Concord to Mt. Madison with a flight time of 35 minutes.
While the helicopter was en route from Concord, Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue team members hiked up from Appalachia Parking Lot in Randolph as a backup plan. The weather on Mt. Washington, only a few mountain peaks away from the call, had gusts of up to 90 miles per hour with a wind chill of 29 degrees Fahrenheit during the time of the call for help. Despite the weather, the National Guard decided to continue so that all effort was put forward in an attempt to save Apreku’s life.
When the helicopter crew arrived in the area, they flew to the highest elevations that the cloud cover would allow in order to assess the chance of getting Apreku off the mountain. Despite all efforts and hoping that the clouds would lift and the wind would settle down, the helicopter crew could not get to the hiker.
The weather conditions also did not allow the helicopter crew drop off two conservation officers would have hiked farther along the trail to reach Apeku.
After multiple hours of CPR, AED deployment, and many other life-saving efforts, Apreku succumbed.
Rescue crews from Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue Team, members of Appalachian Mountain Club, and Conservation Officers continued to hike to Apreku’s location throughout the night on August 11 and into the morning of August 12 to recover his body.
At 7 a.m., a successful flight was made by a National Guard helicopter avoiding the call up of more than 30 rescuers, had Apreku needed to be carried down the Valley Way Trail. The National Guard made two additional trips to the Madison Spring hut and relayed down all rescue personnel as well.
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