Daring rescue of injured canoeist Algonquin Park

SUDBURY -- Paramedics were forced to spend the night in an Ontario provincial park with an injured canoeist last Wednesday after bad weather stalled rescue efforts.

It took a highly coordinated effort between several emergency response teams to evacuate an individual who had been hurt in Algonquin Provincial Park.

Paramedics from Renfrew were flown to the closest accessible lake and then paddled and portaged to get to the injured person.

Late Wednesday, a @RCAF_ARC 424 Squadron Griffon flew through poor weather to reach an injured canoeist in Algonquin Park, Ont. The weather worsened, but paramedics reached the canoeist and stayed on scene waiting for conditions to improve. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/btj5QDaKJ3

— Trenton JRCC CCCOS (@JRCCTrentCCCOS) September 11, 2020

Matt Cruchet, one of the paramedics involved, documented the experience on twitter giving a close-up view on the ground.

We paddled and portaged to get to the patient. We made contact just as it was getting dark. Improvised a splint and moved to a decent spot to camp and possibly extricate pic.twitter.com/qHlWE0EHT5

— Matt Cruchet (@Paramedic_Matt) September 10, 2020

Because of poor weather conditions, rescuers and the patient were forced to camp out overnight. 

The Royal Canadian Air Force 424 Squadron was finally able to evacuate everyone safely Thursday afternoon once the weather cleared using the Griffon helicopter.

"These boots have been on for 22 hrs and OMG it's going to feel good taking them off," said Cruchet.

I could not be more proud of @RenCtyParamedic staff & their committment to delivering great Paramedicine to patients in difficult to access locations in partnership with @OntarioParks & @ONresources. @JYakabuskiMPP @Paramedic_Matt @PaulMoreau19 @DebbieR83598868 https://t.co/fD7HeGFqQF

— ChiefMNolan (@ChiefMNolan) September 13, 2020

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  Rescuers flown to injured canoeist in Algonquin Park (JRCC Trenton)