Man caught in waterfall near Macbeth Icefield saved by military search and rescue tream
By Contributor
A man who fell 12 metres down a waterfall near Macbeth Icefield Saturday night on the north end of Kootenay Lake was saved from near death when his leg became trapped between an outcropping of rocks, the Vancouver Province reported Sunday.
Although the man’s leg catching on the rocks prevented him from falling further, it also prevented local search and rescue members from reaching him.
Instead, a crew of 11 search and rescue members were flown out of 19 Wing Comox in a CC-115 Buffalo airplane and a Cormorant helicopter Saturday night.
Once upon the scene, flares were dropped from the Buffalo while the helicopter landed on a steep ridge above the falls. Two SAR techs were sent down and, after a 500 metre descent, the two climbers were reached.
In 10 minutes the two stranded climbers were rescued. According to a press release, the injured man was transported to Trail in stable condition.
SAR techs are based at Canadian Forces Base Comox. All are members of an elite squadron responsible for 920,000 square kilometres of B.C. and the Yukon.
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