Into the Wild bus removed from Alaskan wilderness after years of hiker deaths and rescues

The bus which features in the book and film Into the Wild has been removed from the Alaskan wilderness after a number of tourists died or had to be rescued while trying to visit it.

A US Army helicopter airlifted the vehicle from its position near the Teklanika River on Thursday, the state’s National Guard said.

The abandoned bus was made famous by John Krakauer’s 1996 book Into the Wild, which tells the true story of Chris McCandless, a 24-year-old adventurer.

McCandless lived in the bus during the summer of 1992 and died of starvation after 114 days in the Alaskan wilderness.

The book was adapted into a 2007 film directed by Sean Penn starring Emile Hirsch.

According to the National Guard the bus had to be removed because fans of the story were risking their safety to venture out into the dangerous Alaskan wild to find the abandoned vehicle.

The Department of Natural Resources said the state made 15 search and rescue operations related to the bus between 2009 and 2017.

Two people died from drowning while travelling to the bus, one in 2010 and one last year.

Alaska State Troopers rescued five Italian hikers in February, one of whom suffered severe frostbite.

The National Guard said local Alaskans had asked authorities to deal with the risk posed by the vehicle.

Corri A Feige, commissioner for the Department of Natural Resources, said: “We encourage people to enjoy Alaska’s wild areas safely, and we understand the hold this bus has had on the popular imagination.