A man was rescued from the fast, frigid waters of the Fraser River on Wednesday morning. He was swept approximately one kilometre downstream from Cottonwood Island Park and ended up on the eastern shore.
Rescuers were alerted at about 11 a.m. that the flailing swimmer was headed downstream. "RCMP were advised that the male had entered the river on his own accord at Cottonwood Island Park but was swept away by the swift current and he was unable to swim back to shore as planned," said Prince George RCMP spokeswoman Const. Lesley Smith.
The man, who was not identified by name, had already reached Paddlewheel Park but police spotted him and started to assemble downstream. The man managed to make it to shore himself by 11:15 a.m. but was still stranded and in need of emergency assistance.
"This is a prime example of how dangerous both the Nechako and Fraser Rivers are despite what the public's perception is," Smith said. "The river is extremely fast, the water level is still very high and the water is very cold. This male is very lucky that he was able to make it to shore, but was still carried quite a distance and required Emergency Services to pull him out. The outcome today could easily have been a body recovery rather than a rescue."
The spot at which he made shore was in a remote spot at the base of the LC Gunn Park cutbanks. From the rocky beach at the bottom it was a steep 50 feet to the CN rail lines and access road. In his condition he was unable to make the ascent.
Police, fire, ambulance and CN Rail personnel rapidly converged on his location. Defying the terrain, an ambulance and the fire department's Engine 21 drove down an embankment at the south end of LC Gunn Park to the CN right-of-way and drove north a few hundred metres to where a police vehicle was already in position.
Down at the water's edge the man could be seen, shivering and apparently disoriented but not moving any further. He was a Caucasian male in his early 20s, clean shaven with short brown hair clad in nothing but his underwear.
Two firefighters carefully descended the steep, weedy bank. A blanket and long rope were readied as the two rescuers took the victim's hands and attempted to work their way back up. In spite of his bear feet and weakness, the three were able to move together up the bank without climbing aids.
After a few hearty coughs he was wrapped into a blanket and escorted into the ambulance. CN staff escorted the emergency vehicles northward to an access point leading to Highway 16. He was taken to university hospital where he was treated for hypothermia and was in stable condition by Wednesday afternoon.
