A pre-Christmas group hiking trip turned deadly on Monday after a young girl was fatally struck by boulders in a popular hiking area north of Vancouver.
A group of around 15 people were hiking near the Lone Tree Creek area in the mountains above Lions Bay, B.C., around 10 a.m. when a seven-year-old girl in the party was caught in a rockslide near a creek bed, according to Lions Bay Search and Rescue.
Martin Colwell said the youngster fell on Unnecessary Mountain Trail and became trapped under the falling rocks.
“She was near the creek bed and was essentially struck by large boulders and rocks and significantly buried by the debris,” said Colwell.
Group members called 911 while family members and some nurses in the group tried to remove as many rocks as they could, to remove the pressure on her.
Air ambulance and ground teams responded to the remote trail. First responders performed CPR and tried to remove her from the debris but she was pronounced dead by a doctor at the scene.
The girl’s mother and older sibling were also on the hike, part of a weekly outing called Monday Hikers, according to Lions Bay’s mayor, Karl Buhr.
The girl’s father arrived as the rescue unfolded. No one else was injured.
It’s unclear how the rocks fell but rescuers suggest recent heavy rains may have loosened the sides of the creek beds and made the slope unstable.
The group was trying to take some photos when the slope “just gave away when the young girl was on it,” said Colwell.
Five-foot boulders surrounded the youngster, said Colwell, and she drifted in and out of consciousness as the hikers tried to try to pull them away.
RCMP are now working with the deceased’s family the BC Coroner’s Service.
The girl’s death has rattled the small village of Lions Bay, which is nestled on the steep shores of B.C.’s Howe Sound and the surrounding mountains.
“What can you say? It’s just too terrible to even contemplate,” said Colwell. “It’s hard on the entire village and the community.”
Mayor Buhr said he and his wife knew the little girl well, and had seen her caroling just last night.
“The family is now home, being cared for by visiting family and friends,” he said in a statement issued to the municipality’s website.
Mounties have closed the trail, citing dangerous conditions.
