2 New Yorkers struck by lightning while hiking on Colorado peak were saved in record-high state helicopter rescue
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It was a striking view.

Two men from New York were struck by lightning while hiking on a Colorado peak. They were rescued by a helicopter, marking the highest-altitude helicopter rescue ever recorded in the state.

The hikers, who have not been named, called for assistance at approximately 5 p.m. on Thursday after losing their way while trying to climb Torreys Peak. This mountain is among the highest in the state, towering at 14,300 feet.

According to Jack Smith, a spokesperson for the Alpine Rescue Team, the pair seemed inexperienced and had attempted to reach the summit as part of a road trip across Colorado.

“I think it was probably just a lack of awareness.”

Emergency crews had just steered the men back on course when they were zapped by lightning minutes later — leaving one hiker unresponsive and in critical condition.

About 30 rescuers ascended the mountain while a Colorado National Guard Black Hawk chopper hoisted the injured man off the peak at 14,200 feet.

He was then rushed to the burn unit of a Denver hospital, where he remains in fair condition.

The helicopter returned around midnight to rescue the other wounded man, briefly touching down on the mountain before he was treated and released from a nearby hospital.

Emergency personnel believe the daring rescue shattered the state’s previous record of 13,700 feet — with such missions a challenge due to thinning air reducing a chopper’s lift at higher altitudes.

The Black Hawk’s max ceiling is around 19,000 feet.

Torreys Peak stands as the 11th-highest summit in Colorado.

With Post wires

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