WATCH ABOVE: Footage courtesy of the Edmonton Police Service’s Air 1 helicopter.
EDMONTON – Edmonton’s police helicopter came to the rescue of seven people who were stranded along the banks of the Pembina River early Wednesday morning.
They had been tubing on the river late Tuesday evening when they became stranded in the dark on the riverbank after their raft deflated. Just after midnight, Air 1 and its flight crew received a distress call from the group just after midnight.
Air 1 managed to find the group in an area inaccessible by vehicle.
The helicopter landed near the stranded rafters to assess their situation. It was determined right away that one person was in need of medical attention; so Air 1 transported that individual to paramedics, who were on standby nearby.
The GPS coordinates of the stranded group were given to Evansburg RCMP, who then sent ATVs to rescue the remaining rafters.
Efforts to access the remote area were still underway at 5 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Police say the location of the stranded rafters would have been virtually impossible to pinpoint without Air 1’s assistance.
Pembina River is located just over 100 kilometres west of Edmonton, as well as north of Drayton Valley and Evansburg.
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