District of North Vancouver (DNV) firefighters were called to Lynn Canyon on Wednesday afternoon to rescue an injured cliff jumper.
DNV Fire and Rescue assistant chief of operations Jeremy Duncan said Metro Vancouver rangers called them to an area about 60 metres downstream from the Lynn Canyon suspension bridge, where a woman in her late teens or early 20s had been hurt.
“It frustrates us that people are getting hurt. We understand what they’re trying to do, but we don’t think they come well prepared,” Duncan said.
READ MORE: North Vancouver fire crews spend long weekend rescuing hikers, cliff jumpers
“And they don’t understand the force of nature with the rocks and the terrain and the cold water and the undercurrents. Young people think they’re invincible, unfortunately.”
Duncan said the girl was with a group of three other young people, who had been jumping from an area of the canyon near the bridge.
He initially told Global News a park ranger actually saw the victim slip and fall into the water below, hitting her back on the way down. Metro Vancouver staff later clarified it was a North Vancouver District employee who witnessed the incident.
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A friend in the water helped her get to the shore.
WATCH: Cliff-jumping rescues in Lynn Canyon
Duncan said she complained of pain in her back and hip.
Fire crews were deployed with a full-body splint and an inflatable boat, and used a long line to lift her up at the suspension bridge.
It’s just the latest cliff-jumping injury on the North Shore this year.
More than a dozen people have been hurt cliff jumping at Lynn Canyon alone this summer, where multiple signs have been posted warning of the extreme danger.
At least 34 people have died jumping in the area, 30 in the last 24 years.
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