A lobbyist for an outdoors group was rushed to hospital after he collapsed while speaking at a legislative hearing.

Robert Schaible, a former deputy secretary of state, was answering a question during a committee meeting Thursday when he fell to the floor, lawmakers said. He was listed in critical condition Thursday afternoon in the intensive care unit at St. Alexius Medical Center.

"There were no symptoms or indications anything was wrong," said Rep. George Keiser, R-Bismarck, a member of the House Natural Resources Committee. "Within one second, you could see his eyes roll back."

Schaible is a lobbyist for the North Dakota Outdoor Heritage Coalition. He was speaking on legislation to increase the number of mule deer hunting licenses allocated for nonresident sportsmen who hunt with bow and arrow.

The committee's vice chairman, Rep. Todd Porter, R-Mandan, is a paramedic and an owner of an ambulance company. Porter rushed to give Schaible first aid, witnesses said, and stayed with him as more help arrived.

Porter said Schaible maintained a heartbeat during the episode but stopped breathing intermittently, and remained unconscious when he was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

"It was a serious event," Porter said.

The North Dakota Highway Patrol's office is next door, and officers responded with an emergency kit that included oxygen equipment, Porter said. A doctor who provides volunteer medical assistance at the Capitol also was called to the scene.

The emergency left some members of the committee shaken as they tried to find out more information about Schaible's condition Thursday afternoon.

"It's a very difficult thing to witness," Keiser said.

Highway Patrol Capt. Mark Bethke said increased activity around the Capitol during the Legislature means a medical emergency is more likely.

"These things do occur, but fortunately they're few and far between," Bethke said.

Porter said emergency medical training is "something you always have with you."

"There's a lot of people walking around with underlying medical conditions that you don't know about," he said.

Schaible worked as a deputy to two Republican secretaries of state, Ben Meier and Al Jaeger. He also has published an almanac of North Dakota sports.