Hawaii County firefighters rescued a 59-year-old woman who fell 15 feet into a lava tube in the Kaumana Caves area above Hilo.

The woman was hiking on a trail when she fell through a hole above the lava tube near the entrance to the caves at about 4 p.m. Saturday and suffered head and chest injuries, according to a Fire Department news release.

Firefighters hiked into the caves, stabilized the woman and carried her out. The Fire Department helicopter took the woman to an area where a waiting ambulance drove her to the Hilo Medical Center in serious condition, firefighters said.