iPhone ‘Emergency SOS’ leads to rescue after 250-foot fall into canyon

LOS ANGELES — Dramatic video shows the moment a helicopter reeled a couple to safety after their car flew hundreds of feet into a canyon.

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The Los Angeles County Fire Department was initially called to the scene of a crash off the Angeles Forest Highway on Tuesday afternoon, where a vehicle had reportedly gone off the road and into the canyon.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Enforcement Bureau shared photos and videos of its response to the crash on Twitter. One video, taken from inside the helicopter, shows the moment one of the people who had been in the car was pulled to safety.

First responders at the scene said two people who were inside the vehicle were able “ambulatory and in mild distress.”

Officers told CBS News that the driver and passenger landed in an isolated canyon that had no cellphone service.

The Montrose Search and Rescue Team said it was called to assist the rescue after receiving a call from the Apple emergency satellite service. Despite the lack of cell service, Apple’s “Emergency SOS” feature was able to alert authorities to their location.

Rescuers said the two people were able to get out of the car by themselves and used the emergency feature on an iPhone 14 to text a relay center for help. The relay center was able to give the search and rescue team exact coordinates, allowing rescuers to locate the victims quickly.

The victims were described as a man and woman in their 20s with “mild to moderate” injuries and were taken to a hospital.

Apple says on its website that the iPhone 14 is capable of alerting emergency services using satellite when there is no cellular or Wi-Fi coverage. The service is free for two years after the activation of the device.

Rescuers did not say what caused the car to leave the road.

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