Advertisement

Grouse Mountain rewards ‘heroes’ who rescued 8-year-old dangling from chairlift

Click to play video: 'Grouse Mountain rescue heroes rewarded'
Grouse Mountain rescue heroes rewarded
WATCH: Grouse Mountain rescue heroes rewarded – Mar 1, 2019

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.

Story continues below advertisement

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

Click to play video: 'Teens called heroes after Grouse Mountain rescue'
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.

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

“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.

Story continues below advertisement

WATCH: Extended: Teens help rescue boy dangling from Grouse Mountain chairlift

Click to play video: 'Extended: Teens help rescue boy dangling from Grouse Mountain chairlift'
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.

Story continues below advertisement

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

Sponsored content

AdChoices