The Terrace Search & Rescue Team was busy with another helicopter rescue this week, this time in a wooded area near the Earlingston River.
According to Terrace Search & Rescue Search Manager Dwayne Sheppard, two fish samplers en route to a remote stretch of the wilderness had flipped their quad in transit around 2:00pm Monday afternoon, leaving one worker with a dislocated hip and the other with a spinal injury
Speaking to CFNR News about the rescue, Sheppard says the call came in just as a wilderness first aid training course was wrapping up, giving some crew members a change to put their new skills into action right away
“It’s intense and it puts a lot of pressure on the rescuer, but overall, I think… I know this team did a great job’ – Dwyane Sheppard, Terrace Search and Rescue Search Manager
As it turns out, the workers route had them cross the Earlingston river by boat before reaching an ATV on the other side, which meant rescue crews had to be lowered into position via a fixed line from a helicopter. It’s a maneuver that, as Sheppard noted, requires specialized training and nerves of steel on behalf of the rescue crews and helicopter pilots.
The rescue ultimately involved two helicopters with a compliment of pilots provided by Canadian Helicopters, 16 SAR members, an RCMP officer dispatched via ATV, a DFO officer responding by boat, and two BC EHS ambulance crews standing by for medivac at Munson’s farm in New Remo.
The injured workers are reportedly receiving treatment at the Ksyen Regional Hospital in Terrace.
Search Manager Sheppard also stressed the importance of having an emergency communication device like an In-Reach or another type of satellite communicator on you at all times when in the backcountry, as he says, these devices are your lifeline to call for help if you run into trouble.
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