Olivier Meilleur, a tour guide, is being hailed as a hero for his swift actions that led to the rescue of a man trapped under snow following an avalanche near Revelstoke, BC. This event unfolded when a group of snowmobilers encountered an avalanche on Boulder Mountain.
In February, Olivier Meilleur was heading down Boulder Mountain in Revelstoke, B.C., after a day of sledding when he noticed a group of men frantically searching in the snow. As soon as he figured out that the search was on for a man buried under the snow, Meilleur sprang into action and quickly took over the scene. The man was buried due to a size-three avalanche, which is considered big enough to bury and destroy a car or a small building, damage a truck, or break a few trees.
As the friends were not able to search the exact location of the buried man Meilleur used his transceiver to find a signal quick that was far away from the location being searched. Meilleur was able to locate the subject’s signal and got his friends to start digging. After constant digging, the man was found roughly 1.5m below the snow, unconscious and without a pulse. Meilleur covered the rescued man’s core with hot water bottles as the man regained his breathing after about 10 minutes of being buried under the snow. The search and rescue team showed up in 22 minutes and was able to offer proper care to the affected man.
The story was shared on the Facebook page of Great Canadian Tours, the company for which Meilleur works and many people are hailing Meilleur as the hero for saving that man’s life just in time. Meilleur credits his training and experience as a tour guide and believes that one always needs to be ready for potentially dangerous backcountry conditions. Meilleur has been in contact with the man who was rescued and is in better shape now without any injury.
Source: CBC
