On the morning of Aug. 9, a crew of a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CH-146 Griffon helicopter from 424 Transport and Rescue Squadron proceeded to a successful rescue by hoisting two people who were stranded on an island on Coveo Lake, Ontario.
At around 3:00 a.m. local time, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Trenton received a call for assistance from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) from Pembroke. Two persons, in good condition, were stranded on an island after capsizing their canoe in the rapids. Members of 424 Transport and Rescue Squadron based out of 8 Wing Trenton responded with a CH-146 Griffon Helicopter and were on scene at around 5:00 a.m. The Griffon couldn’t land in this area because of the unsuitable terrain due to rapids and rocks. The search-and-rescue technicians successfully hoisted both of them into the helicopter and transported them to Pembroke Airport.
“We hoisted our search-and-rescue technicians 170 feet down to the island where they met the canoeists. Once we had them on the helicopter, we flew to a nearby airport and transferred them to local Ontario Provincial Police,” said Capt Marc Crivicich, CH-146 Griffon pilot, 424 Transport and Rescue Squadron.
