WOODBURY, N.Y. (AP) - A rock slide on a remote mountain Wednesday killed one hiker and injured others, state police said.

Two hikers, a man and a woman, were taken by helicopter to area hospitals. Two other people were treated for minor injuries.

A small group of hikers, all members of the same club and part of a larger group Wednesday, was trying to traverse an expanse of rock when the slide occurred, said State Police Capt. Martin Hansen.

"The rocks fell down on top of them," Hansen said. "From what the (helicopter) pilot said, it looked like a bunch of shale."

Nicholas Styranovski, 76, of Astoria was killed after apparently suffering a head injury when he was hit by a boulder, Hansen said.

Most of the other hikers were able to walk off the mountain. Daniel O'Rourke, 62, of Congers, and Gunvor Satrai, 70, of Wayne, N.J. were airlifted to Westchester Medical Center Hospital.

Hospital officials would not release any information on the conditions of O'Rourke or Satrai Wednesday night. State police said they were admitted in serious but stable condition, O'Rourke with a head injury and Satrai with multiple fractures. Rescuers who went in on foot had to carry the victims 80 feet to where they could be put on backboards.

Troopers received a 911 cell phone call about 12:15 p.m. from one of the hikers who said the party was trapped on Schunemunk Mountain, said Trooper Charles Sands.

Sands said between five to seven people were originally believed to be trapped on the mountain about 50 miles north of New York City in Orange County.

Police located the hikers about 2 p.m. and the rescue was finished up about three hours later.

"They were pretty much giving us location and description where they were," Sands said.

Holger Nissen, 76, of South Salem, was admitted for observation for hypertension to Cornwall Hospital, state police said. Justin Sullivan, 25, of Mountainville, was treated at the hospital for cuts and bruises and released.

Edward Goodell, executive director of the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference in Mahwah, N.J., said the hikers were part of a group that hiked every Wednesday. The organization maintain trails in the area.

"This was a regular Wednesday hiking group, all experienced hikers, many retired people. They're a great group of people. This has obviously been a terrible tragedy," Goodell told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

State police said 36 people were on the hike, some of whom were members of the Trail Conference.

"Many of them are volunteer backcountry trail maintainers. This is not a group that's made a mistake. We need to get the whole story, but I can only imagine that the recent rains waterlogged the ground and it gave way," Goodell said.

There are several trails on the mountain, all of which are well-maintained and marked, Goodell said.

Schunemunk Mountain, an eight-mile stretch reaching an elevation of 1,700 feet, forms the western boundary of the Hudson Highlands.

The mountain is covered by deciduous hardwoods, scrub and pitch pine, an understory of blueberry and one of the most extensive stands of mountain laurel in the area.

"No one in my organization, which is 82 years old, can remember anything like this," Goodell said.

(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

APTV 05-22-02 2110EDT