2 campers rescued from Algonquin Park after severe thunderstorm Saturday night

Emergency services conducted a harrowing rescue during a severe thunderstorm over the weekend to save an injured boy struck by falling trees. CTV’s Katie Griffi

Rescue crews travelled 25 kilometres through debris-filled roads and trails, then paddled 300 metres to rescue a mother and her 13-year-old son from an isolated area of Algonquin Park after a severe thunderstorm over the weekend.

The two were camping along North Depot Lake in the park over the weekend when thunderstorms with strong winds rolled through the area Saturday night.

Police say a tree fell on their tent, and the 13-year-old suffered “very serious injuries.”

“Mom triggered an ‘SOS’ signal on a device which transmitted their coordinates to rescuers,” the OPP said on X.

Officers with the Upper Ottawa Valley OPP, Algonquin Park Rangers and the Renfrew County Paramedics’ Sierra Team were involved in the rescue.

The OPP says an aerial rescue wasn’t possible due to the weather, so first responders “had to make the harrowing trek through roads and trails filled with downed trees and other debris and through dense bush.”

“Rescuers then launched a canoe and paddled to the stranded mother and her seriously injured son and began immediate first aid,” the OPP said Sunday night.

“By 8:30 Sunday morning, a Ministry of Natural Resources float plane was able to land on the nearby lake and transport mother and son to hospital, where the young man underwent treatment for his injuries.”

The OPP says officers and paramedics had to travel about 25 kilometres over land on the debris-filled roads and trails, then it was a 300-metre paddle to the camp site.

“It took hours to be able to cut our way in using chainsaws, handsaws. With the assistance of the Deep River fire department, who provided some of the chainsaws to the OPP, we were finally able to make it to the shore of the lake,” said Chief Michael Nolan with the County of Renfrew Paramedic Service in an interview.

“Without a cooperative approach and a determination to be able to get access to these individuals, be able to initiate care by the paramedics, and then be able to use our air assets both federally and provincially really is what saved this individual’s life.”

North Depot Lake is located on the northern edge of Algonquin Park, near Deux-Rivieres.

“Just an incredible situation. So much teamwork was involved. We can’t say enough about how seamless this really was,” said Bill Dickson, the OPP East Region’s media relations coordinator.

Officials reported Algonquin Park “sustained storm damage” during the storm Saturday night and Sunday morning.

While the park remains open, officials say there may be delays in getting through the area.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Katie Griffin