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Injured hiker rescued with fallen dog

A hiker injured while trying to save his fallen dog was flown off Mount Raymond by helicopter on Labour Day weekend.
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Archipelago SAR volunteer Ross Hayes

A hiker injured while trying to save his fallen dog was flown off Mount Raymond by helicopter on Labour Day weekend.

The man is recovering, but the dog died shortly after the rescue.

Chris Ashurst of Archipelago Search and Rescue says the call came in around 9 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 4.

The injured man was unable to hike out from the Sleeping Beauty trail he got hurt while trying to reach his dog, which had fallen off a cliff near the Mount Raymond summit.

Archipelago SAR called in a helicopter from Prince Rupert all the helicopters on island were unsuited to make an alpine landing and the pilot was joined by two SAR volunteers, Ross Hayes and Maryanne Wettlaufer, who also work with the BC Ambulance Service.

The team picked up the injured hiker around noon from a relatively flat area about 100 metres below the summit, and flew him to a waiting ambulance by the Queen Charlotte helicopter pad.

The pilot then tried bringing the dog to the veterinary clinic in Tlell, but it was too late.

Volunteers with Archipelago SAR respond to ground-based search and rescue missions across Haida Gwaii.

Along with all other SAR groups in the BC Search and Rescue Association, it offers rescues free of charge to better serve its goal of saving lives.