Multi-agency rescue effort helps man injured on Mantario Trail
Shane Gibson | CBC News | Posted: September 10, 2018 12:01 AM | Last Updated: September 10, 2018
Man airlifted to hospital in Winnipeg
It took a team effort to rescue an injured hiker on the Mantario Trail in eastern Manitoba this weekend.
STARS Air Ambulance was called to a remote area near Moosehead Lake around 10 p.m. Saturday after a man fell on the trail, about 140 km east of Winnipeg, near the Ontario border.
But when STARS arrived, the helicopter was forced to turn back. The pilot was unable to find a safe spot to land near the injured man, says STARS spokesperson Chad Saxon.
That's when 435 Squadron's search and rescue team (SARTEC) stepped in to help.
Saxon says two SARTEC members from 17 Wing Winnipeg parachuted into the lake near the injured man and his friends and stayed with the group for the night.
Chainsaws sent to cut space for landing
While there, and with help from Manitoba Conservation — who Saxon says lowered chainsaws to the SARTEC members from a helicopter — the pair cleared a spot for the STARS helicopter to land.
"They were actually able to work through the night and into the morning," said Saxon.
"They were able to work up a landing zone so in the morning our crew was redeployed and were able to pick up the patient."
The STARS crew landed around around 9:30 a.m. Sunday and the man was taken to hospital in Winnipeg, where he is listed in stable condition.
Saxon called the rescue a unique operation.
"At STARS we always talk about being part of the chain of survival, and this was a fantastic example of that," he said.
"In this case a number of different agencies came together to work for the betterment of the patient."