Five Indian international students received bravery awards from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for saving two lives in a daring rescue at Lower Falls at Golden Ears Park near Vancouver.
On Monday 11 October Gurpreet Singh, 21, and four friends were hiking in Golden Ears Park when they were approached by a woman who said her friends were in danger near the falls and needed help. Another rescuer, Kuljinder Kinda, said:
We were trying to think how we could get them out, but we didn’t know how to. So we walked for about 10 minutes to find help and then came up with the idea to tie our turbans together.
When they got to the area above the hikers, they unwrapped their turbans and used them to make a “rope,” which they then lowered down to the stranded hiker. One of the rescuers lowered himself partway down the rock and tested the rope while the others held on from above.
Their turban rescue plan worked and they successfully pulled the stranded hiker to safety.
Manager of Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue, Rick Laing said:
The rocks there are quite slick and it can be really difficult to get back out of it, especially if you are wet and cold. So, they were fortunate that these five young men happened by and were able to get him out and back up to the trail.
Laing added that the man could have succumbed to hypothermia, and if he had been swept over the falls, he could have suffered broken bones or worse.
Several people are injured each year as a result of slips or falls. It seems about once every one to two years, someone will be swept over the falls and die as a result of their injuries.
In a ceremony last week, Ridge Meadows RCMP honoured the five international students for their bravery in the daring turban rescue and gave them each a community leader award.
Source: NBC News, Global News