London - It sounds like a plot from Hollywood - and in this case it really was.
A hiker inspired by a film about a man trapped in a desert canyon found himself in a similar life-threatening situation when he visited the location where the drama took place.
After watching the film 127 Hours, Amos Richards, 64, went to Little Blue John Canyon in Utah, but injured himself when he fell more than 3m down a hole.
With a broken leg and dislocated shoulder, he was forced to drag himself through the desert for four days until a search helicopter saw him.
Richards said he had decided to visit the remote park after watching the 2010 film about the real-life story of hiker Aron Ralston, who was forced to amputate his right arm to free himself from a boulder - after falling down a canyon at Little Blue John.
After he tumbled down the hole Richards realised the full horror of his situation: his cellphone was not working, he had just two protein bars to eat and had not informed anyone about where he was going. He recalled: “I was just thinking that this may be it, I may not be found.”
As he crawled along following footprints he made on his journey in, Richards filled his water bottles with rain. He eventually dragged himself almost 9km. At night he slept without covers in the open as temperatures plunged to barely 10°C.
Rangers at Canyonlands National Park sent out search parties when his camp site was discovered unattended.
Richards was treated for leg fractures, internal injuries, trauma and dehydration
A spokesman for the park said the incident was “at least the third or fourth time that we’ve had issues at Blue John since the movie”. - Daily Mail