Volunteers with the Royal Marine Search and Rescue Station 39 in Port Alberni rescued a man who fell off a fishing vessel just after midnight early Saturday.
The fishing boat had broken down in the Alberni Inlet near China Creek and the man had been in the water for two hours holding on to a line on the port side. Others on the boat were unable to get him back on board, Royal Marine Search and Rescue said.
The volunteer first responders received the urgent call and quickly assembled, arriving at the scene in 20 minutes aboard the Alberni Responder.
The crew of four used safety ropes to pull the man from the water and administered first aid for hypothermia before heading back to Port Alberni and an waiting ambulance.
“It was believed the victim would be OK following treatment at West Coast General Hospital,” Royal Marine Search and Rescue said.
The Canadian Coast Guard base in Bamfield sent two vessels to assist. One of those vessels towed the fishing vessel back to Port Alberni.
