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pals,
just read the following news from canada.com, it is a lesson for all of us. take care.
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A group of hikers swept into the water off the West Coast Trail west of Port Renfrew were hoisted to safety in a dramatic rescue by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter Monday night, two of them from the bottom of a deep hole in the rocks where they'd been trapped since morning.
"There were five us doing the West Coast Trail and into our second day. We had a rogue wave hit us that swept four of the five of us into a surge channel," Neil Peterson, one of the hikers, told CH News.
A surge channel is a narrow gully which oceans waves sometimes rush up. The force of the waves is so amplified that they can suck large logs back out to sea. Hikers along the West Coast Trail are warned about the dangers of surge channels before they set out.
"I was on the other side of the surge channel, which was a little bit higher," said hiker Joe Ellis. He managed to stay out of the gully, and went looking for help.
Ellis eventually found a vacant ranger's cabin. He broke in and found some rope, which he took back to the spot where his friends were trapped.
"We were able to use the rope to get at least two of the four of us up to safety. And then at that point the Coast Guard arrived and was able to get the last two up, and then back here to Port Renfrew," said Peterson.
The rogue wave hit the hikers about 9 a.m. A park ranger spotted the hikers and called for help about 6 p.m.
"They were very gracious, very happy and excited to be safe," John Linnborn said, shortly after the Port Angeles coast guard member helped the group to safety.
Linnborn, an 18-year search-and-rescue veteran, said the situation was unlike any he'd seen before. The five Americans were hiking along the rugged trail at Owen Point, just north of Port San Juan, when a wave washed four of them into a channel, Linnborn said.
"Three got sucked into an underwater tunnel, into a land-locked hole in the rocks," he said.
The hole in the rocky terrain was about eight metres deep and 16 metres wide.
A 20-year-old woman, and two men, 22 and 24, were on the surface when rescuers arrived.
A 63-year-old man and his 29-year-old son were at the bottom of the hole, knee deep in water and unable to get out.
The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre out of Victoria called in their U.S. counterparts in Port Angeles because their helicopter is closer than the Canadian Cormorant rescue helicopter based in Comox.
"We call in whoever is the most able to assist," said Capt. John Edwards, of the rescue co-ordination centre.
The U.S. Coast Guard helicopter left Port Angeles at 6:07 p.m. and arrived on site 25 minutes later. Several boats were already on the scene. The Cormorant from Comox arrived shortly afterwards.
Linnborn was hoisted down from the HH-65 Dolphin Coast Guard helicopter to the ground.
He unrolled a rope, with a harness at the end, and the group hoisted first one man up, and then the other. Then all the hikers were hoisted up to the helicopter hovering above.
"They were very excited to be in the helicopter," Linnborn said. "The tide would have worsened their predicament."
The five wet and cold hikers were taken to hospital for a check. One is suffering from mild hypothermia.
"So many one little things could have gone wrong, which would have totally screwed us over. And it'd be a totally different story right now," said Ellis.
"We're lucky to be alive. And I want to thank everybody that made these special efforts to get us out of there," said Peterson.
Between 50 to 80 hikers are evacuated from the trail each hiking season. |
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发表于 2007-6-12 10:08:47
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发表于 2007-6-13 12:05:32
发表于 2007-6-13 12:53:11