THUNDER BAY — Paramedics and police officers went into action Wednesday morning to rescue a man badly injured in a fall from the top of the Boulevard Lake bluffs.
Superior North EMS superintendent Eric Todd says the emergency responders answered a 911 call at about 8:00 a.m., and "had to crawl over huge rocks, through the bush" to locate the man after he had apparently lost his footing while visiting the lookout.
Paramedics immediately determined that the victim, about 30 years old, was in critical condition.
Todd told Tbnewswatch the man was placed on a backboard stretcher and carried down "a very steep embankment" for a distance of about 90 metres to where Thunder Bay firefighters had brought an ATV on a paved path.
He was then taken to an ambulance and further stabilized before being rushed to the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre.
The man's condition was unknown as of early Wednesday afternoon, however Todd described his injuries at the rescue site as life-threatening.
There is no railing along the edge of the bluffs.
Todd said "I don't get the sense this man was a rock-climber. I think he was just a sight-seer that was out there."
Thunder Bay Police said the accident victim was among a group of four individuals who were apparently exploring the area.
Todd described the spot where the man fell as"very rugged. It was actually quite a difficult job to extricate him, even with eight (paramedics and police officers) carrying him out. There were literally rocks that were half the size of a Volkswagen. They were having to lift the individual, keep him level, get him out of there and further treat him once he got into the ambulance."
