Police in Saskatoon (Canada) has released footage that was recorded by their Air Support Unit of the moment a 66-year-old blind man was found nearly 13 hours after going missing.
The dramatic footage (below) shows the moment that the
A spokesperson for the SPS Air Support Unit said:
“Last night the North Battleford Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) asked for help locating a 66-year-old blind person who had been missing outside since 0700 hours.
“At approximately 21:30 hours after 45 minutes of searching @SPSAir1 located him in the bushes and guided searchers to his location. Lifesaving team effort!”.
In the footage, you can clearly see the heat source from the male in some dense undergrowth as the officer approaches him via a footpath.
As the rescuers were guided towards the missing male, the heat source did not move and remained motionless.
As soon as the officer gets to the male, he sends a radio message through to his collagues asking for EMS to be sent to the location. The officer confirms that the male is ‘awake’ and ‘talking to us’.
Shortly later, other officers arrive to assist. Officers on the ground then radio through to the ASU in order to thank them for finding the male, referring to them as ‘awesome’.
The flight crew replies by saying: ‘you’re welcome – we’re pretty happy as well’.
The casualty is then taken away from the scene by police and EMS personnel using a stretcher and he was taken to the nearest hospital where he received treatment for exposure.
He is expected to make a full recovery.
The average temperature in North Battleford, Canada, at this time of year is around -19 degrees celsius, so it is a miracle that the male survived being out in the cold for such a prolonged period of time.
Had the Air Support Unit of not located the male then temperatures could have dropped to around -25 degrees
This incident just goes to show the vital service that Air Support Unit provides, regardless of where in the world they operate.
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