Injured hiker rescued from remote riverbed near Brooklyn

Injured hiker rescued from remote riverbed near Brooklyn

Canada Mountain Rescue Atlantic used a special basket and a rope system to remove the injured

A joint force of local first responders and Canadian Mountain Rescue Atlantic rescued an injured hiker from a remote riverbed near Brooklyn, N.S. last week.

The operation took several hours and involved three teams of rescuers navigating steep, slippery terrain with no vehicle access to the site.

Jürgen Weigelt, of the Canadian Mountain Rescue Atlantic, told the CBC's Maritime Noon that the 22-year-old man slipped and fractured his lower leg while hiking with his father near Little Meander River Falls in West Hants outside the community of Greenhill. The pair managed to send out an SOS signal, which local emergency crews responded to.

Brooklyn's volunteer firefighters arrived first and administered initial care to the young man, who said he could feel his bones "grinding on each other."

Jürgen's team took about 45 minutes to reach the scene, and EHS responders had to travel from further afield as no paramedic service is stationed in the area. He said the terrain was steep and extremely slippery, forcing his team to navigate pools of water from knee-to-hip deep and wheel equipment to the riverbed using a special Stokes basket stretcher.

Jürgen recalled the young man was in great pain, and an EHS specialist administered fentanyl to ensure he felt comfortable before extraction began.

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Instead of carrying the injured along the water-filled riverbed, the rescuers cleared a path for the Stokes basket to pass through, and established a rope and anchor system with three rescuers at the top hauling the basket up while two others guided it from below, sliding it along the ground to avoid jarring movement for the injured man.

He said bringing the patient up the 70-metre bank took the most effort, but otherwise the process was simple and easy because his team conducts 1,000-1,150 hours of professional training each year. He also credited teamwork with EHS and the firefighters as key to the rescue's success.

Jürgen said the young man was taken to hospital but he was unable to disclose further details.

He advises hikers to wear appropriate footwear when exploring the remote areas in Nova Scotia, and carry a phone ideally with SOS capability in case cell service is unavailable.

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