During a bustling B.C. Day long weekend, Vancouver Island’s search and rescue teams were kept on high alert as they responded to a series of emergency calls involving injured hikers and mountain bikers across the region.
On Friday, a 70-year-old mountain biker faced a harrowing situation when he plunged off a steep embankment on a challenging trail at Englishman River Falls Park near Parksville. The cyclist sustained severe injuries, necessitating an airlift operation coordinated by Arrowsmith Search and Rescue. The operation required halting traffic within the park to facilitate the helicopter’s landing and retrieval of the injured rider from the rugged terrain.
The following day, another mountain biker suffered significant injuries in the Burnt Bridge area near Shawnigan Lake. Cowichan Search and Rescue, along with the Shawnigan Fire Department, worked swiftly to stabilize the injured cyclist. Due to the inability to land an air ambulance at the site, a long-line extraction was carried out by a team including Arrowsmith and Alberni search and rescue members, as well as Airspan Helicopters, to transport the biker to a waiting ambulance.
Earlier in the week, on Thursday, Juan de Fuca Search and Rescue tackled a separate rescue operation involving a hiker who suffered a lower-body injury in East Sooke Park. The hiker was safely transported out with the combined efforts of Metchosin Search and Rescue and the Peninsula Emergency Measures Organization.
On Saturday morning, the rescue teams were called to China Beach where a hiker with serious injuries had signaled for help by blowing a whistle. Fellow hikers alerted emergency services, leading Juan de Fuca Search and Rescue and Shirley Fire to the scene. The injured hiker was subsequently carried out to safety.
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