Flare helps boater find stranded fisherman

14/08/2019

A ‘good Samaritan’ rescued a stranded fisherman on a lake in Manitoba, Canada, with help from a smoke flare.

A Canadian Armed Forces search and rescue plane dropped a two-way radio to the ‘good Samaritan’ at Lundar Beach cabin and asked for his help to locate the fisherman, reports CBC news.
The team explained the stranded man was a long way out on the lake after drifting for more than a day and a craft that could navigate the shallow waters was needed to rescue him.
The rescuer agreed and went out on the lake on his Sea-Doo. A smoke flare was dropped by aircraft to help locate the stranded boat, which was around 8km offshore. It had drifted around 40km after its engine failed.
The 60-year-old boater was located and rescued after spending nearly 24 hours on the water.
He had been camping at Vakker Beach on the north west of the lake, near Alonsa, and went out fishing. Ste. Rose du Lac Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) was told the man had not returned to the campsite after going out the previous evening.

RCMP search and rescue members thought he may have drifted across the lake to the Ashern and Lundar. With help from Manitoba Sustainable Development and the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, the man was located.
Canadian Armed Forces spotted the missing man from the air and 435 Squadron’s CC-130H Hercules dropped a radio so he could communicate with the rescuers.
However, RCMP could not launch its rescue boat, as the lake is too shallow, so it asked the ‘good Samaritan’ to help.

The image of Lake Manitoba is a general view taken by Alick Boych on flickr and is reproduced under Creative Commons.