LOVELL (WNE) — Two volunteers from the Big Horn County Search and Rescue team were severely injured during a joint training exercise with the Wyoming National Guard Saturday afternoon near Horse Creek Mesa in the Bighorn Mountains.

The two men, Johannes Bates of Cowley and Jeff Schmidt of Shell, are part of the search and rescue team’s high angle ropes division.

According to Big Horn County Sheriff Ken Blackburn, the Wyoming National Guard was conducting a training exercise in hoist training with the two men dangling from a rope connected to the helicopter above the ground when the helicopter suffered engine failure.

During the course of an emergency restart procedure, it was necessary for the helicopter crew to cut the line hoisting the volunteers, causing them to fall an estimated 30 feet.

In a press release, the Wyoming National Guard explained that after the chopper experienced a power failure, “the hoist line was immediately cut as part of standard safety procedures in an effort to minimize loss of life, further injuries and destruction of equipment and property.”

Search and rescue volunteers on the ground were stationed nearby and were able to assist Bates and Schmidt within minutes of the fall.

The incident involved a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter assigned to the Wyoming National Guard. The crew and helicopter are assigned to G Company, 2nd Battalion, 211th Aviation, Wyoming Army National Guard, a team that is frequently used to conduct search and rescue missions and provide firefighting capabilities.

The two volunteers each sustained serious back and limb injuries, Blackburn said. Once the helicopter was restarted, it landed and took the men to the Greybull airport. From Greybull, they were transported by ambulance to West Park Hospital in Cody.

The Wyoming National Guard said it frequently partners with local agencies to train and improve search and rescue skills and increase capabilities.

“Our crews know the risks of the inherently dangerous work they are called to perform,” sheriff Blackburn said in the release. “We will continue to train with the Wyoming National Guard and other partners to gain much needed proficiencies to serve our citizens in times of crisis.”

The guard said it is investigating the incident.