A young woman from Surrey was hospitalized Wednesday afternoon after falling from a cliff in Lynn Canyon.
According to District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services, the 20-year-old had gone to the canyon for cliff jumping but slipped from a ledge above 90-foot pool around 4:15 p.m.
“When she went to go jump, she slipped and then landed on her back and her hip, which caused her to fall chest- and face-forward into the water. She was having trouble swimming,” said assistant fire chief Jeremy Duncan.
A Metro Vancouver park ranger witnessed the fall and called 911.
The woman’s friends jumped in and pulled her to shore but it was clear she was injured.
“She was in obvious pain,” Duncan said. “The decision was made to use our rescue boat lowered straight from the suspension bridge.”
The high-angle rescue team packaged the woman into a splint that vacuum packs the patient into a sort-of full-body cast and hoisted her to the top of the suspension bridge where B.C. Ambulance Service paramedics were waiting. The woman was taken to hospital but Duncan said there was no update on the extent of her injuries.
A lot of people are drawn into the North Shore’s parks and trails, enticed by posts they see on social media, Duncan said.
“At the end of the day, it brings a lot of people who are ill prepared.”
It’s been a steady year for rescues in the canyon, Duncan said, and all the first responder agencies required are operating like clockwork.
“The Metro rangers were excellent. They had the bridge closed down by the time we got there,” he said. “B.C. Ambulance was on scene. … We were in contact with North Shore Rescue in case we needed helicopters to take her out.”
