A group of teens and Good Samaritans who rescued an eight-year-old boy from a chairlift on Grouse Mountain were honoured for their actions on Friday.
The group of five boys and, as it turns out, two adults, snapped into action on Wednesday afternoon when the young boy somehow ended up dangling from one of the lifts.
Cell phone video captured the group of rescuers grabbing some nearby out-of-bounds fencing, then talking the boy through removing his skis and jumping down into the waiting makeshift net.
Thursday afternoon, the president of Grouse Mountain met privately with the seven, where they were rewarded with honourary “Grouse Hero” passes, a complimentary season’s pass for next year, sweaters and toques.
While the story so far has focused on the heroic actions of the five youth who helped catch the boy, Global News has learned of two other Good Samaritans who rushed to help as well: Peter Pian and Danielle McKinney.
WATCH: Teens called heroes after Grouse Mountain rescue
“I just wanted to acknowledge Peter because the big story is about the boys, but this man is actually who grabbed the fence and brought it over to me and held it, so just want to give him the credit he deserves,” said McKinney.
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“It’s amazing,” said Pian. “We worked together, with Danielle and the five boys… teamwork.”
The five boys said the time since the rescue has been something of a whirlwind, packed with multiple interviews — some of them with news outlets around the world.
WATCH: Extended: Teens help rescue boy dangling from Grouse Mountain chairlift
The boys hesitated to call themselves heroes, despite all the attention.
“Uh… kind of?” they told Global News.
“In these sweaters, yeah,” they added, laughing.
READ MORE: Skiers and snowboarders spent hours trapped on a chairlift at resort near Agassiz
Pian and McKinney, who had never met before Wednesday, have also struck up a friendship — and now say they plan to go skiing together.
There has been no new update on the status of the boy who was rescued. On Wednesday, he was taken uninjured to Lions Gate Hospital as a precaution.
Grouse Mountain said an investigation into how the boy fell from the chairlift will be conducted, in accordance with industry standards.
- With files from Jordan Armstrong and Jon Azpiri
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