It was a long weekend, hours-wise, for Penticton Search and Rescue.
Four calls for help were received, one proving to be time-consuming and lasting almost 20 hours.
The work began Saturday when a paraglider became entangled in a tree following an emergency landing in the Penticton, B.C., area.
According to PENSAR, volunteers and two ground crews were deployed to find him. However, they couldn’t locate him because of the terrain.
A helicopter and rope team were sent out, with the subject eventually being spotted.
“After several hundred meters of bushwacking, PENSAR made contact with the subject and the rope team was able to utilize a ground-based rope system to lower the subject down successfully,” it said.
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On Sunday, as rope technicians were packing up after a morning of practice, Grand Forks sent out a mutual aid call for a rope rescue.
The team packed up and headed east for what turned out to be an 18.5-hour day, along with 750 kilometres of travel.
“After a difficult stretcher carry, the injured person was successfully handed over to BC Ambulance,” PENSAR said of the rope rescue.
However, on the road back to Penticton, Vernon Search and Rescue sent out a mutual aid call for a paraglider stuck in a tree – 120 feet above the ground.
PENSAR’s helicopter team was dispatched to help the rope team.
“After successfully retrieving the subject, Vernon Search and Rescue provided ground transport out of the area,” PENSAR said.
Notably, during that call, another call came in, this one for a stranded individual — though one that was short-lived.
As crews were mobilizing, the Penticton Fire Department contacted them to say the situation was in hand, and crews were then stood down.
PENSAR said its weekend came to an end at 1:30 a.m. Monday.
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