HIGH-RISK RESCUE

P.E.I. woman falls from cliff at Meat Cove Campground in Cape Breton

Cape Breton Highlands first responders performed a high-risk exercise Thursday to reach a P.E.I. woman who fell from a cliff.

The 62-year-old woman was seriously injured at the Meat Cove Campground after falling about 30 metres to the shoreline below.

RCMP say the incident occurred shortly before 6 p.m.

The woman was moving a motorcycle she and a family member had been travelling on when she lost control of the bike and went over an embankment.

She survived the fall but suffered serious injuries as a result.

Members of the Bay St. Lawrence fire department, RCMP, paramedics and a crew from Cabot fire department were dispatched to the scene in the northern part of Cape Breton.

The Cape North firefighters had recently completed a highangle rescue training session, said Cabot fire instructor Scott MacKinnon.

“It’s the type of rescue that’s high risk and low frequency, (meaning) we don’t perform them very often,” said the former chief of the Victoria Co. department.

“It is a fairly difficult situation given the fact that we don’t perform these types of technical rescues very often, so that does create some concern.”

According to police, the fallen motorcycle came to a rest approximately 10 metres from where the woman landed.

A family member slid down the cliff after the woman, while a civilian boat carrying a paramedic was dispatched.

MacKinnon and his team used a rope system and rescue bucket to lower two firefighters down to the beach, one at a time. They helped assess the woman’s injuries and apply pressure to a wound.

“It was decided to load the casualty on the boat and transport her by water to the wharf in Bay St. Lawrence and pick her up there by ambulance,” said MacKinnon.

The woman arrived at a local hospital where she was airlifted for further treatment.

MacKinnon said he was notified late Thursday that the accident victim was conscious and in reasonably fair condition.

Cabot fire will be completing an after-accident review this weekend.

MacKinnon said while rescuers performed admirably under stressful circumstances, there is always room for improvement.

“We will identify our weaknesses and try to improve on that, we will also identify our strengths and bring them forward into the next rescue,” he said.

“It is an adrenaline rush, however, there is a person at the bottom of that cliff that needs some help and they need it now.