A North Carolina couple survived a 250-foot plunge down an embankment into a gulch after their car went off the road about a mile above the Haleakala Visitors Center Tuesday morning.

Arriving Maui County firefighters found the two victims, a man and a woman sitting up on their vehicle, which was on its side, a Fire Department spokesman said.

The woman complained of neck, back and hip pain and had cuts on her arms and head. The man complained of pain in his ribs and had a cut on his head. A rescue helicopter airlifted both patients to a landing zone, where they were taken by ambulance to Maui Memorial Medical Center in serious condition, firefighters said.

National Park Service rangers reported the 7:42 a.m. incident and were the first to respond and treat the victims.