Military helicopter called in to help with rescue at falls
A military helicopter from Vancouver Island was used to rescue a man injured on a rope swing at a remote Central Okanagan waterfall.
He was lifted out of a canyon at Christie Falls, 40 kilometres northwest of Kelowna, just after midnight Monday, five hours after being hurt.
A helicopter based at Vernon was down for maintenance, and one based in Penticton couldn’t fly because of the fading light. So search and rescue officials called in a Cormorant helicopter from CFB Comox.
“It was our third choice for a helicopter, but still the best way to get him out of there,” Duane Tresnich of Central Okanagan Search and Rescue said Monday.
The injured man, said to be in his 20s from Quebec, was airlifted to Kelowna General Hospital.
Christie Falls is accessed by rough forestry roads off Bear Creek Main, west of Fintry Provincial Park.
“The roads to get there are atrocious, but some people do make the trip to see the falls,” Tresnich said.
There’s a rope swing at the falls, but it’s not known if the rope broke or the man slipped and fell while exploring the area. He was with friends who drove 30 km to reach an area with cellphone coverage so they could call for help.
“I guess people can’t be stopped from going to the falls, but this certainly shows that you have to be careful if you go there,” Tresnich said.