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A teen injured in a long fall was able to call for help with his Apple Watch at the bottom of a ravine, and Apple CEO Tim Cook responded to his tale.
Lonavla in Maharashtra, western India, is a popular hiking destination, but on July 11, 2022, there were at least seven accidents along the trekking route. The seventh time Smith Meta slipped and fell about 130 feet into the valley.
The Times of India does not know where Meta's two friends were at that moment, but reports that he was immediately isolated due to the fall. Meta broke both ankles on the descent — and his friends had his iPhone 13.
However, at the time, he was wearing an Apple Watch Series 7.
“Soon I saw that I was receiving a signal on the Watch,” he told the publication , and immediately called his parents and friends.”
The crash happened around 3:00 pm local time and reportedly took two hours for emergency services to reach him. In the meantime, Meta's friends and other travelers managed to get him out of the valley.
“I was 99kg [219lbs] at the time of the fall and I'm over 6ft tall, so it wasn't easy at all,” he said.
Meht was taken to a local hospital in Lonavle, but the wound was reportedly infected by a delay in receiving medical attention. He was taken to another hospital in Pune for surgery, but due to complications unreported there, he was hospitalized in Mumbai.
“I had to go through a long period of rehabilitation,” he says, “because I could not bear the weight on my legs and was confined to a wheelchair for some time.”
The accident happened in July, but Meta still needs a cane. While in rehab, he also sent an email to Tim Cook to thank Apple, he said. “My Apple Watch came to my rescue as I was able to make those important phone calls [to get help],” he said.
“I'm so glad you're on your way to recovery. It looks like a terrible accident,” Cook replied. “Thank you so much for sharing your story with us, wishing you a full and speedy recovery.”
Smith Mehta says he was initially motivated to buy the Apple Watch because of his sports. But now he adds that “I think I am God's favorite child because I was really lucky to survive that fall.”
