Quesnel Search and Rescue (QSAR) responded to an SOS beacon from a distressed paddler yesterday afternoon.
Bob Holowenko, Public Information Officer for QSAR, says the beacon was activated around 3:30 p.m. in the Bowron Lake chain in the Babcock Creek area, roughly 120 kilometres west of Quesnel.
Holowenko says the paddler pressed their SOS because of an acute, unidentified medical situation, which made the paddler and BC Parks felt it was unsafe for them to continue through the lake trails.
“Once we were informed, [QSAR] made contact with the park operators, and they had the patient with them in their care,” says Holowenko. “We contracted a helicopter that was brought in. We landed safely at the cabin in the area that was specifically cleared to be a landing zone by those operators. Two qualified medical responders from [QSAR] assessed the subject, assisted them, and worked with the others on the scene to prepare them for the evacuation.”
Holowenko says the patient was transported by BC Emergency Health Services to the Prince George Airport, and later to the University Hospital of Northern British Columbia for further medical care.
“This successful medical extraction all started with a press of an SOS beacon,” Holowenko says. He said that BC Parks, BC Emergency Health Services, RCMP, and Search and Rescue teams were notified of the alert as soon as the paddler pressed the beacon.
“We at [QSAR] would like to remind the public to consider having these vital signaling devices, even when using a heavily trafficked trail or lake network, in this case, like the Bowron Lake Chain; you never know what kind of resources you can get going right away with just a press of a button.”
The paddler is expected to make a recovery.
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