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Lower Mainland Search and Rescue saves paraglider in treetop rescue

Pilot tried to self-rescue but sustained serious injuries in a 30-foot fall
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The paraglider pilot, while attempting to free himself, dropped 30 feet and sustained serious injuries as Kent-Harrison Search and Rescue members worked quickly to extract him from the trees. They were able to get him to a waiting ambulance at the end of a nearby forest service road. (Contributed Photo/Dave Harder)

Agassiz-Harrison emergency workers were involved in a daring treetop rescue to save an injured paraglider this weekend.

According to Kent-Harrison Search and Rescue manager Neil Brewer, Search and Rescue volunteers were paged to Mount Woodside on Saturday, Nov. 28 at 2:45 p.m. The paraglider pilot crashed into the treetops not far away from the launch site. When attempting to rescue himself, the pilot dropped 30 feet and sustained serious injuries.

At about 4 p.m., KHSAR members were able to access the injured pilot, carefully lowering him out of the treetops and down a slope to a logging road, where he was placed in a KHSAR truck and slowly transported down Mount Woodside Forest Service Road to a waiting ambulance.

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Brewer said 15 KHSAR volunteers were involved in the rescue. The treetop rescue marked the 66th call for local Search and Rescue this year, which is an all-time record for the organization. The KHSAR team spent a collective 5,328 hours on incident responses, training, administration and maintenance so far this year.


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