A man from off-island fell from the rocks around the Cape Roger Curtis lighthouse July 21, resulting in serious injury. He was hastily taken to a Vancouver hospital by B.C. air ambulance.
Surrey firefighter, Scott Johnson, who lives on Bowen with his family, was the first on scene.
He said that the man, who appeared to be in his early twenties, fell back off the cliff and landed on the jagged rocks below.
The injured man had been on a short trip to the island with four friends when he fell, said Johnson.
Bowen Island firefighters and paramedics responded to the 911 call, at about 1:40 p.m., along with the coast guard.
“He was still unconscious when we got there,” said Bowen Island Fire Chief Ian Thompson. “We were there for about 45 minutes and he never woke up.”
Bowen’s volunteer firefighters moved the man from the cape, with the help of a spine board and clamshell, to a flat area where the helicopter could land.
“Our rescue team worked extremely well to get him out of there,” said Thompson. “There’s shore on both sides and it was a really good effort to get him out as fast as we did.”
“The injured man was taken to hospital in serious condition,” said a representative from B.C. Emergency Health Services, which operates the air ambulances.
Due to privacy concerns, the man’s identity and condition since Saturday are currently unknown.
Safety hazard?
Lucia Frangione, Johnson’s wife, was also nearby when the young man fell.
“Before he fell our children were climbing all over that [lighthouse],” she said.
“I didn’t see any warning or anything,” she said. “I’m concerned about safety there.”
