A British Columbia man is recovering in hospital after being trapped in his vehicle for two days.
RCMP say he was rescued May 19 along a remote forest service road near Chase, about 60 kilometres northeast of Kamloops.
He had been driving on May 17 when his truck went off road and rolled down a steep embankment.
He remained trapped inside until he was reported missing by family two days later, and was taken to hospital in serious condition, police say.
The man was identified as a member of the Adams Lake Indian Band by the band’s natural resources operations manager, Jennifer Pooley.
Pooley says he was pinned upside down and unable to access food or water, but is making progress on his recovery.
“He was kind of starting to lose hope,” she said. “So, I’m sure when he heard them [rescuers] call out to him, he was pretty happy.”
Fire departments from three different communities including Chase, Sun Peaks and Adams Lake were involved in the rescue, which lasted nearly four hours, according to Chase fire chief Brian Lauzon.
“This was a challenging situation in a remote area, and we are relieved the individual was located alive,” Cpl. Brett Urano said in a release.
Lauzon said the rescue was hindered by the challenging terrain, which made it difficult to get equipment to the site of the truck.
“The vehicle was a fair distance from the road,” he said. “It took a fair amount of manpower to [extricate him].”
Pooley said when the family reported the man missing, a search was organized by members of her office.
One of the searchers caught a glimpse of a tire “off in the distance,” she said, and first responders were called.
“They had search and rescue, police, ambulance, everybody there. There was a lot of people on site to help,” she said.
She also said that the man’s elderly dog was with him at the time but was not trapped in the vehicle, and her well-being was the first thing he asked about.
Fortunately, she said, his pet was found by someone else and has been identified.
“The dog is fine and waiting for his owner to come back,” she said.
