News Release - August 13, 2014 RCAF’s 442 Squadron evacuates injured hiker from West Coast Trail 19 WING COMOX – The crew of a Royal Canadian Air Force CH-149 Cormorant helicopter conducted a medical evacuation of an injured hiker on the West Coast Trail on Wednesday, August 13, 2014. Quick Facts • On August 13, Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Victoria received a call from Parks Canada indicating that a hiker with a leg injury was in need of evacuation from a remote portion of the West Coast Trail. The hiker was on the beach near Dare Point (south of Nitinat Lake), Vancouver Island. • The 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron crewmembers left their base at 19 Wing Comox at approximately 12:45 p.m. and flew to a rendezvous point on the beach with Parks Canada personnel. Parks Canada first responders arrived earlier by rigid-hull inflatable boat and performed initial first aid. • The woman and her hiking partner were able to alert rescue crews by using a personal radio. • Upon arrival shortly after 1:15 p.m., Search and Rescue Technicians prepared the middle-aged woman for the 80-foot hoist via rescue basket into the hovering helicopter. • The patient and her hiking partner were flown back to 19 Wing Comox. The patient was transferred to a BC Ambulance for transport to hospital. Her present medical condition is not known. • 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron Cormorant and Buffalo aircraft are JRCC Victoria’s primary means for aviation SAR responses in the Victoria Search and Rescue Region (SRR). The Victoria SRR includes 920,000 square kilometres of mainly mountainous terrain in British Columbia and the Yukon, extending approximately 600 nautical miles (965 kilometres) offshore into the Pacific Ocean. Quotes “When we arrived, we assessed the patient’s vital signs. The Parks Canada personnel did a great job of splinting and stabilizing [the patient] and it was a simple matter of putting her into the basket for the hoist into the helicopter.” Sergeant Steph Clavette, Search and Rescue Technician, 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron “It was cloudy and rainy on the way in, but a mission like this is just like those we practice and everyone did their job well.” Captain James Loose, Cormorant Helicopter Pilot, 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron Related Links For more information on 19 Wing Comox visit: rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/en/19-wing/index.page For more information about 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron visit: rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/en/19-wing/442-squadron.page For more information about the Victoria SRR, visit: forces.gc.ca/en/operations-canada-north-america-current/victoria-sar.page - 30 - Contacts Captain Trevor Reid 19 Wing Public Affairs Officer Phone: (normal hours) 250-339-8201 Phone: (after hours/weekends) 250-703-7035 Email: [email protected]
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 17:59:42 +0000
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