Military search-and-rescue crew airlifts injured hiker from Vancouver Island trail

A Canadian Armed Forces search-and-rescue crew was called into action Wednesday after a hiker suffered serious injuries. (Canadian Armed Forces)

A Canadian Armed Forces search-and-rescue crew was called into action Wednesday after a hiker suffered serious injuries on the West Coast Trail.

Video released by the military shows a CH-149 Cormorant helicopter hovering above the rugged shoreline as rescuers hoisted the injured person from the remote trail near Port Renfrew.

The rescue was co-ordinated by the Victoria Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre, which requested assistance from 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron based at 19 Wing Comox.

According to the Canadian Armed Forces, the hiker was seriously hurt in a fall and required an air evacuation due to the challenging terrain and limited access along the trail.

After being lifted aboard the helicopter, the patient was flown to Victoria and transferred to BC Emergency Health Services crews for transport to Victoria General Hospital.

Based out of Comox, 442 Squadron crews respond around the clock to emergencies on land and at sea throughout the Victoria Search and Rescue Region, which stretches across B.C., the Yukon and hundreds of kilometres into the Pacific Ocean.

“Given the size and complexity of this Search and Rescue Region (SRR), SAR crews operating in this region are highly skilled and ready to confront the challenges of this region in order to save lives,” said the Canadian Armed Forces in a statement.