RCMP navigated 10km through fog in the dark — twice — to rescue six people on Frog Creek. (RCMP HANDOUT)
Two injured people are safe after the boat they were in careened out of the water and onto land on Frog Creek, near Cormorant, Man.
The Pas RCMP said they got an emergency satellite call from an iPhone at about 9:45 p.m. on Tuesday, where they were told a woman had been injured in a boat crash deep in the forest.
Using the help of a local lake and river guide with expert knowledge of the area, two officers, two emergency medics and the guide departed in the fog “in near total darkness, navigating through 10 kms of Cormorant Lake, turning into Frog Creek. The team then went another 10 kms through Frog Creek’s switchbacks and stone dams until on scene of the vessel collision,” said RCMP.
Frog Creek, near Cormorant, Man. (Google Maps.)
When they got there, they found at 30-foot commercial fishing boat, stocked to the gills with ice and fish, had run aground.
“It appears the vessel hit something under water and veered, launching the boat about 40 feet out of the water and onto land,” said RCMP.
Of the six-person crew, two were hurt, including one 34-year-old woman with serious injuries and a man, 42, with other injuries.
The rescue team took the two injured people 20 km back to the Cormorant boat launch, where an awaiting ambulance took them to hospital in The Pas. Both were treated and released.
Meanwhile, rescuers headed back to the scene to help pick up the rest of the crew, who were not hurt.
“This was a very challenging rescue as it occurred at night in difficult-to-navigate waterways in foggy conditions,” said Superintendent Paul Peddle, Manitoba RCMP North District Commander.
“Our local guide, our officers, and EMS went above and beyond in this situation, and were able to get help to people who were in dire need of it. In the North, we all come together to help each other out, and lives are saved because of it.”
