Climber badly hurt in fall, others stranded on Mount Hood, Oregon

A climber was critically injured after falling up to 1,000 feet (305 meters) on Mount Hood in Oregon and seven to 15 other people remained stranded on the mountain in difficult conditions on Tuesday, authorities said.

The injured man was airlifted to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, Brian Jensen of the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office said.

Of those still stranded on the mountain, at least one person had sustained a non-life-threatening injury, Jensen said.

Four people were stranded above a treacherous area with enough food and water to last the day and had been told to stay in place, he said. Another three to four climbers were making their way down the mountain.

Jensen said it was possible there were more people on the mountain.

A 40-person rescue crew, assisted by Air National Guard crews, was working to get everyone to safety before a storm hit later on Tuesday or early on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Keith Coffman in Denver and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Sandra Maler and Susan Thomas)