Close X
Friday, September 20, 2024
ADVT 
National

Woman rescued off B.C. glacier calls those who braved smoky conditions 'superheroes'

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 29 Jul, 2024 03:59 PM
  • Woman rescued off B.C. glacier calls those who braved smoky conditions 'superheroes'

One of the four hikers plucked off a glacier in British Columbia's West Kootenay region as wildfires burned around them says the search and rescue team members who brought them home were like "superheroes"

Laurence Desjardins says the weather changed rapidly for the experienced group who spent last Wednesday night on the Macbeth Ice Fields listening to the winds howl and watching ash fall, before calling for help on Thursday.

Mark Jennings-Bates, with the Kaslo Search and Rescue, says a skilled helicopter pilot was able to navigate the winds and thick smoke to rescue the hikers from the side of an alpine lake.

He says the four were well prepared and used an iPhone's emergency SOS feature to provide rescuers with their precise location.

Desjardins says the friends were emotional as they were being flown out of danger because they could see trees around the trail they had used to hike in on had been burned.

"The real heroes of this story are the search and rescue team. These guys are doing this unpaid, on their time … and they were just incredible," she said.

"I really felt like a kid looking up at superheroes or something. They were incredible." 

MORE National ARTICLES

Targeted shooting in Penticton

Targeted shooting in Penticton
Mounties in Penticton are asking for the public's help after a man was shot in the leg. They say officers responded to the call around 7 a-m yesterday, and the victim was brought to hospital.

Targeted shooting in Penticton

Attempted robbery at UBC

Attempted robbery at UBC
Mounties at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver are searching for a suspect after an attempted robbery with a weapon. Police say officers responded to an assault near the school's Rose Garden parking structure around 1:30 p-m yesterday, and found a victim suffering from non-life-threatening injuries.

Attempted robbery at UBC

Work pauses on Calgary water pipe after injuries; consumption continues to rise

Work pauses on Calgary water pipe after injuries; consumption continues to rise
Repairs to a fractured Calgary water pipe were paused Thursday after two workers were injured at the site, while the city's mayor pleaded with residents to step up their conservation efforts. Gondek said daily water use increased by another eight million litres on Wednesday.

Work pauses on Calgary water pipe after injuries; consumption continues to rise

Tech summit coming to Vancouver

Tech summit coming to Vancouver
Global technology conference Web Summit is headed to Vancouver next May. Destination Vancouver says it expects the event to generate 172-million dollars in direct spending and 279-million dollars in overall economic impact for B-C over three years.

Tech summit coming to Vancouver

Joly crafting 'Arctic foreign policy' amid regional tensions, not a full strategy

Joly crafting 'Arctic foreign policy' amid regional tensions, not a full strategy
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is readying an "Arctic foreign policy" aimed at preparing for a more tense time in international relations. Joly tells Bloomberg News that this will involve working closely with NATO peers, including Finland and Sweden, who recently joined the military alliance.

Joly crafting 'Arctic foreign policy' amid regional tensions, not a full strategy

Court-imposed deadline to pass new citizenship law approaching next week

Court-imposed deadline to pass new citizenship law approaching next week
The federal government has just a week left to make key changes to the Citizenship Act in response to a court ruling last year. The Ontario Superior Court has not yet agreed to extend the looming deadline, the Immigration Department said Wednesday, and NDP attempts to rush legislation through the House of Commons have failed. 

Court-imposed deadline to pass new citizenship law approaching next week