Team member hurt in training exercise

COSAR training mission turns into rescue following accident in backcountry

While on a training mission learning to rescue people in the backcountry, one local search and rescue member had to be rescued following an accident last month.

In December, Central Okanagan Search and Rescue team members were on a weekend training exercise in the Greystokes area near Kelowna.

On the second day of training, one of the members had an accident, resulting in serious injuries, COSAR posted on its website.

COSAR has about 50 volunteers, and the team is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“COSAR members participate in regular training scenarios that replicate realworld conditions and inherently carry some degree of risk,” COSAR said. “Whenever we go into the field, we always thoroughly evaluate the situation and put together a plan that minimizes the level of risk as much as possible.”

When the accident happened in December, members evaluated the person’s injuries and provided first aid, while others helped to prevent hypothermia while waiting for extraction.

Other members slowed approaching snowmobiles and relayed information to the base.

“Due to the nature of the injuries, it was determined that a helicopter was the best method to transport the injured team member to hospital,” COSAR said.

Cellphone service was not available, so the team activated their inReach SOS device to contact the monitoring centre that handles inReach emergencies.

Details were passed on to Emergency Management BC.

Emergency personnel, COSAR members not on the training exercise and members of the Penticton Search and Rescue responded.

Five hours after the accident, the person was transported to the hospital.

“No matter how much training or experience you have, a bit of bad luck is always a possibility and you can suddenly find yourself in a serious situation,” COSAR said on its website. “Even though our team ended up in a tough situation, having a trip plan, training and all of the necessary equipment made the difference between this being an accident with a positive outcome and one with a much more serious ending.”