QIKIQTARJUAQ/BROUGHTON ISLAND - A French hiker has now returned safely home after he spent more than 20 hours awaiting rescue after he fell into a crevasse while travelling in Auyuittuq National Park on April 15.

Two French hikers had to be rescued after one of them fell 37 metres (120 feet) into a crevasse in Auyuittuq National Park on April 15. Sgt Darcy Keating stands on the glacier beside the Cormorant helicopter used during the rescue. - photo courtesy of National Defence

"It was a happy ending given the remoteness of the location and it was a very rapid response," said Marc Ledwidge, visitor safety manager with Parks Canada at Banff National Park.

Sophie Pomart, 42 and Eric Hintermeier, 41, both of France, entered the park from the Qikiqtarjuaq side after being dropped off by an outfitter from the community.

After registering with park staff, they headed out to Coronation Fiord, which is approximately one hour by snowmobile or by boat from the park entrance on that side.

Their plan was to go on the Coronation Glacier on the Penny ice cap.

They were already a couple of days into their trek when Ledwidge said Parks Canada's 24-hour Jasper call centre got a call from a woman on a satellite phone. He said at first staff could not identify where she was and the phone line kept cutting out. After listening to the call several times, the caller was identified as Pomart saying Hintermeier had fallen approximately 37 metres (120 feet) down into a crevasse.

Four rescuers flew from Banff to Edmonton and on to Iqaluit.

A call was also made to the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre run by National Defence in Halifax.

Under its mandate, the Department of National Defence is responsible for all air searches in Nunavut.

The JRCC dispatched a Cormorant CH-149 helicopter from Gander, N.L., and a CC-130 Hercules from Greenwood, N.S., to fly North, said Maj. Denis McGuire, officer in charge at the centre.

The helicopter landed in Iqaluit and the Hercules went to Pangnirtung to locate the hikers.

"They determined it would not be safe to do a live parachute jump," he said.

The Hercules went back to Iqaluit, swapped crews and the helicopter with five search and rescue technicians went back and performed a rope rescue. Hintermeier was lifted from the crevasse and taken to the Qikiqtani General Hospital in Iqaluit.

He had bruises and broken ribs.

Twenty-one hours had elapsed from the time the call was received to when Hintermeier was rescued at 7 a.m. on April 16. Hintermeier spent the entire time trapped in the crevasse.

The pair returned to France late in the week of April 18.

Ledwidge and McGuire both said the rescue went well. McGuire said his staff will perform two to three rope rescues per year. The last time the Parks Canada crew from Banff was dispatched to Auyuittuq was in the mid-1990s.

At the local level, once the Nunavut field unit of Parks Canada was notified of the incident, they called the hunter and trapper organizations, search and rescue committees and RCMP in both Qikiqtarjuaq and Pangnirtung to inform them.

The cause of the accident is unknown.

"The weather was really good and they were experienced," said Nancy Anilniliak, field unit superintendent with the Nunavut field unit of Parks Canada.

Anilniliak said while parties who use the park have to register when they enter and exit, they do not have to check-in daily with park staff.

As for who will assume the cost for the rescue, she said normally this will be covered by the national park.

All the rescue parties involved said they were pleased with how things turned out.

"We are very appreciative of the support we got in a very short time frame," Anilniliak said.

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