An Extraordinary Rescue

On February 16, crew members from a Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) helicopter and vessel received a call that left them on alert all morning: a passenger on the Québec–Lévis ferry had gone overboard and was stranded in the icy waters of the St. Lawrence River.

Alerted by the CCG Marine Rescue Sub-Centre, the CCGS Pierre Radisson, docked at the Port of Québec, quickly headed out to the area to assist the victim. In addition, a CCG helicopter, which was patrolling the ice in the area, was called in for reinforcement. The pilot quickly located the man, who was stranded in the middle of the river between the impressive blocks of moving ice.

The helicopter was then positioned near a mass of ice large enough for the ice services specialist to descend and retrieve the individual from the icy waters. The rescuee was hoisted into the helicopter and transferred aboard the icebreaker. There, he received initial medical care while the vessel headed toward the Port of Québec, where an ambulance was waiting to transport him to the hospital.

The mission of the CCG Search and Rescue Program is to save and protect lives in the maritime environment. Supervised activities that could require search and rescue measures include commercial shipping activities, tour boat excursions, fishing boat and large pleasure craft activities, and over-water air traffic, which is rather significant.

For more information about the Search and Rescue Program, visit http://www.ccg-gcc.gc.ca/SAR/home.

In case of a marine emergency in Quebec:

Tel: 1-800-463-4393 or 1-418-648-3599
Cell: *16
VHF: station 16 (156.8 MHz)
FM: Frequency (2182 kHz)
DSC: channel 70

Hicham Ayoun
Canadian Coast Guard