Helicopters launch rescue operations after landslide captures hundreds of people on B.C. highway

No less than 275 people, including 50 children, have been trapped on the stretch of highway since Sunday evening, Vancouver’s urban search and rescue team said in a press release on Monday.

Canadian Forces Cormorant helicopters began the first of several rescue flights on Monday, transporting evacuees between the slip zone and a reception center in nearby Agassiz.

David Boone, team leader of the British Columbia Urban Heavy Search and Rescue Task Force and Deputy Chief of the Vancouver Fire Department, said Monday morning his team had yet to see a sight full extent of landslides and debris. to flow.

Boone said his team had arrived to support members of the Agassiz Fire Department, who had already rescued at least 12 people trapped in vehicles from the debris flow. Two other people were rescued on the east side, either by a search and rescue team or by workers from the Hope Fire Department, he told CBC News Network.

“What complicates this situation is that we have two slips on Highway 7 and we have people who have been trapped in the debris… and some have been rescued,” Boone told CBC’s Heather Hiscox, noting that officials do not yet know if other vehicles are missing. and other people who are not counted.

He said officials believe there are around 50 vehicles stuck on Highway 7 between the two debris fields, with around two to three people in each vehicle.

British Columbia Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said search and rescue teams had been mobilized early in the morning but conditions were difficult.

“One of the challenges they faced, obviously, is the weather and the ability to enter the region safely,” Farnworth said at a press conference Monday.

“This is currently under evaluation. And they will do everything possible to make sure that they reach those trapped in their vehicles between these slides as quickly as possible, but also safely.”

WATCH | British Columbia Minister defends the province’s response to travelers stuck in mudslides:

Boone said he spoke to a nurse who was traveling in one of the vehicles doing assessments. The nurse found that those they saw were “safe and secure at this time”. People trapped between the slides have been asked to stay in their vehicles for now, he said.

“It’s very scary”

Martina Martinkova, who is stuck in her vehicle with her daughter on Highway 7, says she is “very stressed”.

“We have no information,” she said in an interview with Heather Hiscox on Monday morning. She said she had been trying for hours to find out what would happen with the rescue efforts.

People were starting to share their food and water, she said, noting that she had seen at least one family on the highway with a baby.

She said she was in touch with those close to her, who know she and her daughter are safe.

“You see that in the movies, honestly, and you thought it would never affect you,” she said. “It’s very scary.”

WATCH | “I’m so scared,” says a mother trapped in a car with her daughter near a mudslide in British Columbia:

Trapped traveler near Agassiz, B.C. describes close brush with mudslide

Martina Martinkova told CBC’s Heather Hiscox that she and her daughter were about two minutes away from being struck by one of the mudslides near Agassiz, B.C. “We were lucky it didn’t affect us.” 8:02

Adam Wuisman and his fiance were on their way home to Richmond, British Columbia on Highway 7 after a weekend in Nelson, when he said a landslide had occurred behind them.

“We were going west and there were huge lines of traffic… and all of a sudden I noticed there was no vehicle behind us which was weird,” he said. he told CBC. The first edition Monday morning.

“We must have missed the first one [landslide] and now somehow we’re in between. ”

The pair have been stranded on this stretch of Highway 7 since 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Wuisman said.

“It’s a very strange feeling here,” he described.

“When we got here, everyone had their headlights on and then slowly over the hours the headlights went out and everything went black. “

Emergency officials said they did not yet have a full picture of the number of people trapped. Wuisman, however, said he believed there were well over 50 vehicles stranded – estimating around 200 to 300 vehicles stranded on that stretch of highway.

“I have certainly heard people crying out for help,” he said.

“It’s a little helpless to feel between a very vulnerable mountainside and the Fraser River on the other side. And there’s really nothing you can do about it, but I hope nothing falls on you.”

Authorities hope to investigate by air

Boone, who noted officials are “still a little blind” to the extent of the problem, said the stability of the ground and problems around power lines complicate rescue efforts.

He said it was too dangerous to approach now, noting that more assessments will come at dawn.

“We are evaluating the best access points to enter the area,” he said, noting that rescuers will coordinate with CP Rail, as the best way to enter may be along a railroad track.

“We will not put our rescuers in the area until we determine it is safe to do so,” he said, noting that they hope to be able to conduct aerial surveys later today. .