'I don't know if he would've survived the night:' Crews rescue injured paraglider near Lions Bay
A 30-year-old man who suffered serious injuries after crashing into dense, steep terrain near Lions Bay was rescued by helicopter Sunday.
Dale Weidman, a search manager with North Shore Rescue, was part of the team that was called in around 4:30 p.m. for reports that a man's parachute was tangled in the trees near Tunnel Bluffs.
"I don't know if he would've survived the night," Weidman told CTV News, noting that the temperature dropped to -6C.
"He was definitely in a dire predicament. Major injury to his left leg, broken femur."
With the help of night vision, the team was able to find and extract the man via helicopter so he could be transported to Lions Gate Hospital.
One Vancouver man whose has paraglided off Tunnel Bluffs describes the route as challenging and not meant for the faint of heart.
"It's a little frightening," said Jason Neufeld, who posted this video of his jump to YouTube. "There's no room for error."
He says it was his first and last jump in the area.
"I know other people that have jumped off that spot, same as in my video, and they also avoid it."
Weidman says the injured paraglider was able to use his smartphone to call for help.
At around the same time, crews were called to a hiker on the Howe Sound Crest Trail who suffered a back injury and was stranded between St. Marks and Mt. Strachan. Both rescues required hoist operations and featured members from both North Shore Rescue and Lions Bay Search and Rescue.
Despite a busy Sunday, crews say it's been a relatively quiet winter season so far.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.