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.
“When we arrived, we assessed the patient’s vital signs,” said
Sergeant Steph Clavette.“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.”
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.