Surrey fire crews were called to a South Surrey marina to rescue a woman apparently stuck at the top of a sailboat mast.
It happened Monday afternoon (Nov. 2) near Nico Wynd Estates, on the Nicomekl River.
It’s not immediately clear how the woman got stuck up there, but it took crews three hours to have her lowered to the safety of the deck below, according to a Black Press Media freelancer on the scene.
Video shows the woman, in her 50s, talking to rescue crews during what turned out to be quite an ordeal for her.
(Story continues below video and tweet)
A woman stuck at the top of a sailboat mast in South Surrey was rescued by fire crews Monday during a three-hour ordeal that involved a dead cellphone, lights and, eventually, a warm blanket for her. @Local1271 #SurreyBC.
— Tom Zillich (@TomZillich) November 3, 2020
VIDEO/STORY: https://t.co/FO014tDPsa pic.twitter.com/J6XSGXQnH9
“With no easy way to get trucks close to the scene or ladders up the mast, crews were forced to talk the woman through tying lines and knots so that crews could lower her to the ground,” the freelancer said in an email.
“At first, they yelled up to her, then they called her on her phone. When her phone battery died, they attached a bag to a rope and had her haul it up. Inside was a cellphone on an active video call to crews at the bottom so they could talk to her again and double-check via the video feed she was following their directions correctly.”
The rescuee, along with friends and neighbours who had been looking on during the rescue, were very thankful to the firefighters for their help, the freelancer said. “The woman was very cold but able to walk off the dock to meet BC Ambulance crews who helped to warm her.”