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US rescue crews are desperately trying to reach a hiker who has fallen 500ft into the crater of fearsome Mount St Helens volcano in Washington state. Skip related content

The 50-year-old hiker was with another climber at the summit when a ledge of snow gave way, plunging him into the mouth of the volcano.

Dave Cox, of the Skamania County, Washington, Sheriff's Department said: "The climber was standing on a cornice of snow on the edge of the crater, about 5ft from the actual edge itself, and the cornice gave way and he fell into the crater."

Astonishingly, the climber did not hurtle all the way down to the crater bottom and he is believed to have survived the 500ft drop.

Nevertheless, the rescue effort had to be suspended on Monday night because of darkness, air turbulence and falling rocks.

There is still hope, however, after helicopter pilots said they saw the hiker moving.

Mr Cox said: "They thought they saw his head moving around, and a climber on the rim thought (he) heard an emergency whistle blowing.

"We just hope his injuries are such that he can hang on long enough for us to get help to him and get him out of there."

Mount St Helens is an active volcano but thousands of climbers make the journey to the crater rim every year and people wanting to climb above 4,800 feet are required to get permits.

A major eruption at Mount St Helens on May 18, 1980, levelled nearly 150 square miles of forest and killed 57 people.