TILLAMOOK, Ore. (AP) -- The Oregon Corrections Department says two minimum-custody work crew inmates have been injured in a fall down a steep slope as they cleared vegetation in the Tillamook State Forest.
A Coast Guard helicopter from Astoria hoisted the injured men Monday afternoon from the steep hillside to a forest clearing near a road.
Corrections spokeswoman Liz Craig said one inmate was airlifted to a Portland area hospital. The other was taken to a Tillamook County hospital for treatment.
Coast Guard spokesman Nathan Littlejohn says the more seriously injured inmate suffered spine, pelvis and abdomen injuries while the other injured an ankle.
Craig says the two were part of a South Fork Forest Camp work crew, working with the Oregon Department of Forestry.
The camp houses nearly 200 inmates who are within four years of release. It's located 28 miles east of Tillamoo
