Woman rescued from old mine pit in Chisholm

A 29-year-old woman was airlifted to Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center in Duluth on Monday after falling about 100 feet down an embankment into an abandoned mining operation on the eastern edge of Chisholm.
Chisholm authorities were notified of the fallen woman shortly after 3 p.m. near the intersection of Lake Street and Sixth Avenue Northeast. Chisholm Fire Department Chief Bob Brown said there were people on the scene when she fell, and they immediately called for help.
“We got all these open, abandoned pits,” Brown said. “People go hiking past the barricades to see the view.”
The Chisholm Fire Department, along with the Hibbing Fire Department and the St. Louis County Rescue Squad, were able to set up a rope rescue, where the woman was strapped to a backboard and, through a system of ropes and a type of sled, they were able to pull the woman up the embankment. Brown said the area through which she was pulled was clear of trees.
Chris Petrack, battalion chief for the Hibbing Fire Department, estimated that it took about 35-40 minutes to lift the injured woman to safety.
The identity of the woman and her medical condition still had not been publicly disclosed as of early Monday evening.
Assisting Chisholm and Hibbing firefighters and paramedics on the scene were the Chisholm Police Department, the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, the Minnesota State Patrol, the Chisholm Ambulance Service and Northern Helicopters.