|
Coquitlam SAR was kept busy from Saturday evening to Sunday afternoon rescuing three people, and two dogs on two separate tasks. “It all started at 6:30 Saturday night with a page from Coquitlam RCMP that a couple were stranded in a gully on the east slopes of Buntzen Lake,” stated Don Seki, SAR manager for Coquitlam SAR. “The couple was very lucky to have cell communications and were able to make a call to 911. They were also lucky that the RCMP helicopter was able to stop them before dark and relay their coordinates to us. Without this combination of luck this search would have been much longer.”
The search involved 16 Coquitlam SAR members most of whom spent the entire night on the mountain. North Shore Rescue and Talon Helicopters were also involved in extracting the subjects and the rescuers off the mountain. “Finding them was easy,” explained Seki, “getting to them was much more challenging.” The couple had missed a trail while hiking down the mountain and ended up in an extremely dangerous ravine full of rock bluffs and waterfalls. It was so difficult to travel in that terrain that it took members over two hours to get to the subjects once they had voice contact. “Once we determined the subjects were uninjured we decided to keep them warm and dry until day light,” Seki continued. “And the dozen members and the subjects on the mountain got as comfortable as you can get on a rock bluff to wait for daylight.” At daylight the area was assessed for an extraction via long line rescue with a helicopter. The subjects, their dog, and 8 rescuers were flown off the mountain and the task concluded by 11 am. With most of the team at a local restaurant having breakfast the second call came in at 11:40 for assistance with BCAS with a medical emergency to Widgeon Falls areas for a sprained or broken ankle. Once again the team responded with assistance from Talon Helicopters, Ridge Meadows SAR, BCAS, BC Parks and North Shore Rescue. The subject was quickly located and assessed in the field. This time a hover entry in the helicopter was done and the subject flown down to a waiting ambulance; his dog and canoe were paddled back to Grant Narrows by members of Ridge Meadows SAR. By 4 pm the rescue was done. After 21 and a half hours of searching and rescuing, Coquitlam SAR’s team and equipment were once again ready should a 3rd page occur. |
News & Articles 
