by Glenn Taylor
Northern News Services

INUVIK (Aug 29/97) - A costly rescue of two canoeists from the Horton River has prompted a meeting between RCMP and tour operators to determine how to avoid future incidents.

Carsten Niberg and Jesper Hirtsgaard of Denmark set off a personal locator beacon (PLB) at the mouth of the river last Monday, when the charter plane they expected did not show up. Activating the PLB sent a warning signal by satellite to Rescue Command Centre in Trenton, Ont., and military planes and a rescue team including medical personnel were rushed to the scene.

It isn't known what the rescue operation cost, but it could have been in the tens of thousands of dollars. Beau Del Air charter company owner Willard Hagen said he was personally out $3,000 because of the incident.

RCMP Cpl. Sean Neary said he wants to meet next month with charter company operators to avoid future costly incidents. "We need to be advising travellers that PLBs are for emergencies only," said Neary.

The Danes activated their PLB only six hours after the time they expected to be picked up.

Travellers also need to be informed by RCMP and air companies that "their pickup plane can't always pick them up on the day they expect them, and (travellers) should be confirming their pickup time with charter companies to make sure everybody has the same time written down."

Niberg said he had documents from the Danish tour company that confirmed an Aug. 18 pickup. Beau-Del Air, meanwhile, had a pickup date written for Aug. 21.

Neary also said travellers should have at least three days of extra food with them, in case their pickup plane is delayed. At the time of the rescue last Monday, Niberg said they were down to a can of soup and a cup of rice, and had not eaten 36 hours previously.

Niberg said he and his companion activated the PLB for more reasons than lack of food. "We hadn't seen anyone else on the river for 11 days," said Niberg. "We thought we were the only ones left on the river, and thought we'd been forgotten."

Niberg said he and Hirtsgaard packed 100 kilograms of food for their 54-day trip down the river, but never planned to take extra food in case their plane was delayed. By the time it occurred to them, their rations were running very low, and it was too late, he said.

The Danes also encountered an incredible 25 grizzly bears during their adventure, and had to shoot one with a rifle when it approached their camp.

The night before at their pickup point, on Aug. 16, the two awoke to find a grizzly sniffing at their tent. It then grabbed a bag of sugar and ate it just metres from the tent, making several bites in an air-tight food barrel before vacating.

The next day, they discovered two bears near their camp. "We thought, where can we go now?" said Niberg. "We have to stay here. We're low on food. We felt we had to defend our camp."

They shot one grizzly that awoke from a sleep and approached their camp. Wounded, it ran off and the two were unable to find it to end its misery.

The two decided to activate their PLB after looking at the map and determining that a rescue from Trenton could take up to 36 hours. "Some people might think pulling the (PLB) plug after six hours was too early," said Niberg. "We could have waited one or two days and then plugged the plug, but what difference would that have made, whether it was sooner or later?"

When asked whether the two would consider paying for a portion of the cost of their rescue, the canoeists objected. "What do you have

insurance for, if not for this?" he said. "It's easy to say this wasn't an emergency, but we had nobody to ask if we were in danger or not. If I read the situation is out of control, I pull the plug."