• Thanks for stopping by. Logging in to a registered account will remove all generic ads. Please reach out with any questions or concerns.

Military mounts rescue for hunter stranded on ice floe

old medic

Army.ca Veteran
Inactive
Reaction score
2
Points
410
Military mounts rescue for hunter stranded on ice floe
Man prepares for a second night adrift in Northwest Passage
Resolute, Nunavut — The Canadian Press
23 January 2010
copy at : http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/military-mounts-rescue-for-hunter-stranded-on-ice-floe/article1442014/

An Inuit hunter was preparing for his second night on a drifting ice floe in the Northwest Passage Saturday as air rescue crews attempted to drop him more supplies.

“That's basically what we're going to do, is drop more kit to him,” said Sergeant Rob Wilson from the search and rescue centre in Trenton, Ont.

The man was hunting near the edge of the sea ice about 15 kilometres from Resolute, Nunavut, when a large chunk broke free and began drifting out to sea, carrying him along.

The hunter, who is carrying a satellite phone, was able to contact his wife.

He was also carrying a light source, which enabled a Hercules airplane to find him in the Arctic dark at about 10:30 p.m. Friday. The Hercules dropped supplies including food, water, a tent, extra clothing, fuel for his stove and a locator beacon.

However, a helicopter sent to Resolute to pluck the man off the ice has been unable to take off due to mechanical problems, Sgt. Wilson said.

A second supply-laden Hercules was scheduled to drop him more equipment later Saturday.

The man, described by Sgt. Wilson as an experienced hunter, is said to be in good condition and remains in contact with his wife. He built himself an improvised snow shelter and was preparing to settle in for the night.

“He is fine,” Sgt. Wilson said.

Meanwhile, the weather is deteriorating in the area, with snow, high winds and frigid temperatures anticipated. His icy raft, however, is expected to remain stable.

“It is a very large floe,” Sgt. Wilson said.

He said the rescue is likely to proceed Sunday.

“We don't foresee an issue.”

 
Rescue underway for hunter trapped on northern ice floe
By Keith Bonnell, Canwest News Service 
24 January 2010
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2479569



A rescue operation is underway to retrieve a hunter who has been trapped on an Arctic ice floe for two days near one of Canada's northernmost communities, as his worried family waits and hopes for the best.

A military helicopter took off from Iqaluit on Sunday morning, headed for David Idlout, who has been stranded since Friday, but the aircraft wasn't expected to reach his location in northern Nunavut until late in the evening or early Monday morning.

Mr. Idlout, 39, had been seal hunting Friday, and was on his way back home, retracing his tracks, when he saw a gap in the ice ahead of him.

He quickly realized its significance.

He called his common-law wife, Tracy Kalluk, at their home in the small community of Resolute, Nunavut, and told her he had become stranded on a large piece of ice that had broken apart from the mainland and was now floating away.

The community, which has a population of about 230 people, alerted rescue officials.

Despite spending two days on an ice floe in the extreme cold -- due to the wind chill, the temperature in Resolute felt like -51 on Sunday -- it's believed the man is in good condition.

A Hercules aircraft dropped off supplies for him Saturday, including a battery for his satellite phone, food and a small tent.

"He's doing good," his wife said from their home Sunday. "He has all the things that he needs."

She said Mr. Idlout had been calling every few hours to update her and their two children, eight-year-old Natasha and 11-year-old Joshua, on how he was doing.

"I'm only asking if he's still OK or if he's cold," Ms. Kalluk said.

"A lot of my friends are coming over to give me moral support, and to keep my mind off things," she said.

"They're helping a lot."

The man is stranded in an extremely remote part of the North. The Cormorant helicopter that left Iqaluit Sunday morning had a journey of more than 1,400 kilometres to make, which was expected to take them nearly 14 hours, including extra stops for fuel.

Capt. Paul Spaleta, a search-and-rescue mission co-ordinator based out of Trenton, Ont., said the distance -- and winds in the area -- were adding to the challenge of the rescue.

"There's winds that are making visibility in certain places lower," he said. "That could certainly play a factor with the great distances between airports.

"For right now, he's safe, fine, warm," said Capt. Spaleta. "He's in contact with the RCMP and family."

Once the helicopter arrives, search-and-rescue workers are expected to go down to the ice floe themselves with a hoist and assess the situation.

"They'll put a harness on him, then hook him up," said Capt. Spaleta.

David's older brother, Simon, said the waiting was hard for the family.

"I'm worried. The whole family's worried, but we can't do nothing," he said Sunday.

The hunter's family said that on the first day, the large ice floe moved nine and a half kilometres, but Saturday, it moved only about five, easing their fears somewhat.

She said she'd been told the rescue helicopter had mechanical problems when it reached Iqaluit, forcing a delay while it was repaired.

The Cormorant was in the air and headed toward Idlout's location Sunday.

"He should be home by midnight, if everything goes OK," she said.




 
I find it hard to believe that we have to send a rescue chopper that far; a 14 hour trip sounds exceptionally long. Doesn't the CF maintain a helicopter base somewhere in the central arctic?
 
Weather delays rescuers on way to stranded hunter
By THE CANADIAN PRESS
copy at : http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2010/01/23/12587886-cp.html

RESOLUTE, Nunavut — A search and rescue helicopter was making its way Sunday to a remote area of northern Canada to pluck a stranded Inuit hunter from a blizzard-shrouded ice floe in the Northwest Passage.

A Cormorant helicopter with a crew of five from Canadian Forces Base Greenwood, N.S., was in Iqaluit, Nunavut, waiting for the weather to improve before heading to Resolute to lift the hunter to safety.

“Last we checked it was very poor conditions. It looks like blizzard conditions in the Resolute area,” said Cpl. Jason Poulin, a spokesman for the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, Ont.

But Poulin said the experienced hunter remained in “good health and good spirits,” despite spending two nights south of Resolute on an icy raft that was described as large and stable.

He said the helicopter crew hoped to reach the area late Sunday after a planned refuelling stop and attempt a rescue in the dark, depending on the weather.

“It’s quite a ways away, still,” said Poulin.


The official said a Hercules transport aircraft from Winnipeg would patrol the area at the time of the rescue and act as backup in the event anything went wrong.

A Hercules dropped survival gear, including warm clothing and water, on the ice floe Saturday. The hunter was also carrying a light source, which enabled a search plane to find him in the Arctic dark late the night before.

Poulin said the man had been keeping in touch with his loved ones from his frigid remote location. “He has a satellite phone and has been in contact with his wife and the RCMP about every two hours.”
 
daftandbarmy said:
I find it hard to believe that we have to send a rescue chopper that far; a 14 hour trip sounds exceptionally long. Doesn't the CF maintain a helicopter base somewhere in the central arctic?
For what purpose?
 
Hunter rescued from ice floe in Northwest Passage
By Mark Iype and Allison Cross, National Post
25 January 2010
Link: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2483458

A hunter who was stranded on an Arctic ice floe for nearly four days is finally safe after a military rescue team plucked him off the ice yesterday afternoon.

A military rescue team had been trying for days to reach David Idlout, trapped since Friday on a floe in the Northwest Passage near one of Canada's most northern communities.

The team had been repeatedly hindered by bad weather.

They were finally able to reach Mr. Idlout with a military helicopter at about 3 p.m. local time, said Capt. Pierre Bolduc, from the search-and-rescue co-ordination centre in Trenton, Ont.

"He was cold, tired but otherwise in good health," said Capt. Bolduc, adding that Mr. Idlout didn't need any medical treatment.

Mr. Idlout was flown to the airport in his nearby hometown of Resolute, Nunavut, and his family was there to greet him, Capt. Bolduc said.

"The whole community was there to meet him and he left with his family," he said.

Mr. Idlout, 39, had been seal hunting and was on his way back home when he saw a gap in the ice ahead of him, and realized he had become stranded on a large piece of ice that had broken apart from the mainland and was now floating away.

He called his wife in Resolute who alerted the rescue teams.

Mr. Idlout remained in regular contact with rescue personnel on his satellite phone, and had sufficient provisions after a Hercules aircraft dropped off supplies for him on Saturday, including a battery for his satellite phone, food and a small tent.

The Cormorant helicopter had to travel more than 1,400 kilometres from its base to reach the hunter.

The rescue team had hoped to retrieve Idlout late Sunday night, but a fierce winter storm grounded the military helicopter in Clyde River, Nunavut, about 900 kilometres from Resolute.

Capt. Paul Spaleta, a search-and-rescue mission co-ordinator based out of Trenton said on Sunday that the distance -- and winds in the area -- added to the challenge of the rescue.

Resolute, with a population of about 200, is the second most northern community in Canada, and is located on Cornwallis Island.


 
Back
Top