Climber rescued from canyon

Photo: Contributed - Penticton Search and Rescue

The Helicopter Evacuation Transport Team and Penticton Search and Rescue pose for a picture.

A man is recovering in hospital after being rescued from McIntyre Canyon north of Oliver late Saturday afternoon.

Shortly after 2:15 p.m. Saturday, Oliver-Osoyoos Search and Rescue were alerted to a member of a four person hiking group had fallen. 

It was confirmed that a man believed to be in his twenties had fallen a short distance and injured himself, although his fellow climbers did not deem his injuries to be life threatening. 

OOSAR search manager Rob Selsing determined that due to the terrain and storms threatening the area, the best way to evacuate the climber would be to contact Penticton Search and Rescue to request their helicopter.

Penticton SAR manager Dale Jorgenson dispatched the Helicopter Evacuation Transport Team while Selsing dispatched a team of six members and one truck to set up a staging area in the Barisoff gravel pit, less than a kilometre from Highway 97 and the McIntyre Canyon area.

The HETS unit located the injured hiker, administered first aid and transported him and another person to the staging area to await BC Ambulance.

The extent of the man's injuries are unknown.