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Bridge workers rescue boaters |
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Written by MARK NIELSEN
Citizen staff
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Thursday, 03 July 2008 |
Surespan Construction employees Trish Fuerth, left, Laverne Ross, Troy Iwaskow, and Victor Maack and others rescued three boaters who went under the work bridge Monday. (Citizen photo by David Mah)
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FRASER RIVERPADDLEWHEEL PARK
The incident occurred Monday afternoon when they noticed a small aluminum boat with a small outboard motor floating down the river pulling a canoe and an inner tube.
An older man was in the boat, his son was in the canoe and a girl who was with them was in the inner tube and none were wearing lifejackets, said Trish Fuerth, the safety co-ordinator for the project, whose main contractor is Surespan Construction.
The three apparently had intended to pull out at Paddlewheel Park but lacked the engine power to make it to shore and continued downstream.
"As they got to the work bridge they couldn't even really manoeuvre themselves in the river and right at the work bridge the boat went on one side of the pier and the canoe and the inner tube went on the other and when the rope between them tightened, they overturned," Fuerth said.
An older man who was in the boat ended up floating down the river hanging onto a cooler while his son chased after him in the canoe even though it was swamped and without a paddle. The girl was able to grab onto some bracing underneath the bridge and climb out of the water.
Three people -- Shawn Kelly, Victor Maack and Troy Iwaskow -- went out in a rescue boat that is onhand in case workers fall in and picked up the man and the son about 200 feet downstream while crane operator Laverne Ross lowered Dean Wood in a basket in it to pick up the girl.
Most of their equipment was retrieved, although the motor and a handbag were lost.
Fuerth treated them for minor cuts afterwards.
"It was just silly," she said, adding they were lucky it occurred near the end of the day when workers weren't as preoccupied with other tasks. "It just happened that a concrete pour was finished and it was near the end of the day so there were lots of hands available to help out," she said. "Our response times probably would've been a bit slower had it been a full, middle of production moment."
They could also have been in even more dire straits had the accident occurred the day before, on a Sunday, or the day after, on Canada Day, when there was just a skeleton crew at the site, Fuerth added.
She said most of the boaters and jet skiers who go near the bridge have been sensible and have stuck to the navigational channel set up so they can avoid the pilings.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 03 July 2008 )
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