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SAR hoist team answers two calls within hours to lift people to safety

On July 3, British Columbia’s Arrowsmith Search and Rescue (SAR) hoist team was called to assist Juan de Fuca SAR to evacuate an injured hiker off the Juan de Fuca trail south of Port Renfrew – and while finishing that call they were tasked to rescue a woman in medical distress from Mt. Arrowsmith.

The month previous, Alberni team members hoisted two French tourists from the Beaufort Range on June 14, a stuck paraglider on July 1 and five climbers stuck on Peak 5040 on July 2.

The Arrowsmith Search and Rescue only recently were certified to perform helicopter hoist and fixed-line rescues with Ascent Helicopters in Parksville in partnership with the Alberni Valley Rescue Squad. Both groups received the certification from Emergency Management and Climate Readiness (EMCR formerly EMBC), and only one month into the program, they have already responded to five separate calls on Vancouver Island.

(Parksville Qualicum Beach News)