Nearly 50 emergency personnel from across the Okanagan assisted in rescuing man from Pincushion Mtn.

Photo: COSAR

Nearly 50 emergency and rescue personnel from multiple agencies around the Okanagan were called in to assist in rescuing a man who had fallen on Pincushion Mountain above Peachland.

Personnel from Peachland and West Kelowna fire rescue, along with search and rescue teams from the Central Okanagan (COSAR), Penticton (PenSAR) and Oliver/Osoyoos (OOSAR) were called to assist in rescuing the man.

According to information from COSAR, two men, age 28 and 29 hiked the popular trail Monday evening and, upon descending, took a short cut down the front face of the mountain.

One of the men fell several metres to a ledge below and hit his head. The other man was able to climb down to the same point, but was unable to climb up, or down from there, and called for help.

Rescue crews were able to get to the injured man and get him to a waiting ambulance for transport to hospital.

However, the other man was in a slightly different location, requiring a more technical rescue. Teams from the different agencies combined efforts, and spent the next five hours extricating the man from the ledge.

With help from all five agencies, West Kelowna's technical rescue team was able to reach the man just before 11 p.m.

He was checked out by BCEHS personnel before heading home.

COSAR search manager Duane Tresnich credited the combined teamwork of all five agencies for a successful outcome.

"The male was in a position that was not easy to get to, and with darkness setting in, it made the job extremely difficult," he said.

"One aspect in our favour was the fact there was a full moon and a clear sky which helped."