Vancouver, Nov. 16 (BNA) On Monday, helicopters transported nearly 300 people trapped in their cars by mudslides on a highway in British Columbia to safety, while authorities sought to determine if anyone had been swept away by the flowing landslides. Because of heavy rain.
The Associated Press (AP) reported that a yellow cormorant helicopter shot down people near the community center in Agassiz town before taking off for another rescue flight.
“Approximately 275 people are trapped between two slides, including 50 children, who have been advised to shelter in place overnight because the wreck was unstable and unsafe to cross,” City of Vancouver and Canada Task Force 1 said in a joint statement.
Several highways in British Columbia have been closed due to the rain.
Driving home from Vancouver to Hope, British Columbia, Melanie Forsyth said she made at least five detours as rain washed away the bridge, blocked roads and trapped her overnight between two mudslides before a helicopter landed on the highway and transported to Agassiz.
Forsyth, who was with her boyfriend and boyfriend Sean Ramsey, arrived in town about 18 hours after being forced to stop on Interstate 7 with nearly 300 other commuters.
“The three of us were kind of cheering each other on, saying it’s going to be fine, we’re going to get out of here. But then, we all had moments like, ‘Is that it?'” Is this the last time we’ll see our children? We were talking to our parents and families, but it was just a scary situation.”
Forsyth said everyone in her car joined about two dozen people on the flight to Agassiz, with nearly 80 more already arriving from the highway.
Forsyth said their cars are expected to be recalled. Her group was about a nine-hour drive from home and she couldn’t find a hotel room to spend the night.
Twelve people were rescued from Interstate 7 by the local fire department Sunday evening before a Vancouver metropolitan heavy search and rescue team was called on Monday.
Jashanpreet Singh and his wife, Harleen Kaur, were also caught between the slides on Sunday and said they had come across a car that was partially crashed due to the skid.
Kaur said a 9-year-old boy had cuts and blood ran from his nose and ears. She added that firefighters, who were the first to arrive at the scene on Sunday, were able to take care of the boy.
The couple was airlifted on Monday. Singh said they learned a valuable lesson because they had no food or water.
Flooding in parts of the county also caused the inner town of Merritt to issue an evacuation order Monday, warning its 7,000 residents not to use water from taps or restrooms.
Flood warnings and monitoring have been issued for rivers and streams in areas from Merritt south to the US border, Lower Fraser and parts of southern Vancouver Island.
MI