3 people rescued from mineshaft in Kern County; 1 suffers life-threatening injuries

KERN COUNTY (KABC) -- Three people had to be rescued after falling into a mineshaft while hiking in a remote area of Kern County Thursday night.

Emergency crews responded at 11 p.m. to an area just west of Highway 395 near Johannesburg, about 130 miles north of Los Angeles, according to Kern County Fire spokesperson Andrew Freeborn.

Freeborn says that the group of people was on a hiking trail when one of them fell about 120 feet into a mineshaft. Two others fell about 20 feet while trying to help him.

Kern County rescue crews successfully got all three people out of the mineshaft after a 3-hour operation. The person that fell over 100 feet was flown to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, Freeborn said. He has not been identified.

No further details were immediately known.