Ever felt so tired you wished someone would carry you home? In the case of one weary Swedish hiker, that was exactly what happened when a helicopter rescue mission responded to the “emergency” and flew in to pick up the woman.
Mountain rescuers received a call that a woman who was hiking with her husband in the northern municipality of Jokkmokk reportedly couldn’t walk.
“I do not know how the conversation went, but the information we received was that she could not walk, and then the decision was made for a rescue mission,” local media cited police spokesperson Marie Andersson as saying.
However, the situation turned out to be not quite as bad as was expected, as the rescue helicopter arrived at the scene to find the only thing preventing the woman from descending the mountain was tiredness.
Since that does not warrant rescue missions, the couple was asked to decide between resting and then making their own way down, or paying some 30,000 Swedish krone ($3,680) for a helicopter ride back. They reportedly took the latter option.
According to police, the rescue services regularly receive calls from mountain climbers in non-life-threatening situations.
“Mountain rescue should be for when there is a danger to life or health. That’s when you should help people down, but if you have food and a roof over your head, maybe it’s better to wait a bit until you’re feeling a bit stronger later,” Andersson said.