Community thanks coast guard personnel
Captain emotional at reception in Pangnirtung
Stewart Burnett
Northern News Services
Monday, October 19, 2015
PANNIQTUUQ/PANGNIRTUNG
Coast Guard Capt. Michel Dufresne was awestruck by the reception he got in the community of Pangnirtung after assisting with the rescue of two hunters.
Pangnirtung hunter Simeonic Naujuq, left, Canadian Coast Guard Capt. Michel Dufresne, hunter Jolly Maniapik and his son at a thank you event the community held after the two hunters were rescued. - photo courtesy of Fisheries and Oceans Canada/Canadian Coast Guard |
The Canadian Coast Guard Ship Des Groseilliers was at anchor off Pangnirtung during an icebreaking standby Sept. 23 when Dufresne got word of a search and rescue case involving two overdue hunters from the community.
As daylight was fading, the ship deployed its helicopter, CG 358, to start searching for the missing persons based on information provided by the joint rescue co-ordination centre in Halifax.
Darkness fell and forced the helicopter to return to the ship, so the crew had to resume the search the following morning.
At first light, a Canadian Forces Hercules provided a precise location to the search and rescue partners and the icebreaker made its way to the position, deploying the CG 358 once again.
Within a half hour, the helicopter had located the missing hunters and delivered them safely aboard the Des Groseilliers, which sailed back to Pangnirtung.
Approximately seven hours later, Simeonic Naujuq and Jolly Maniapik safely stepped on shore and were greeted by many happy faces of their friends and families.
The community hosted a thank you event the following day to celebrate the rescue and other recent ones in Pangnirtung.
"I expected a number of people to attend, but I did not anticipate that the village leaders would make this meeting so official," said Dufresne, reflecting on the event. "There must have been more than 200 people in the room, along with 25 members of the vessel's crew."
"When I was given the opportunity to speak, I took the microphone to express, on behalf of myself and the crew, our great respect for their ability to survive the conditions that Simeonic and Jolly had to endure," said Dufresne.
"One of the most frequent comments shared with our crew was that, if one of our crew were to end up in a similar situation, few of us would have fared as well as these two men did, after spending two days in the cold, while wet, lightly clothed, and without food."
Pangnirtung MLA Johnny Mike was in attendance, along with other government representatives from the hamlet.
He wrote that the most important thing was seeing Maniapik hold his youngest child in his arms.
Gifts were exchanged and Dufresne commented on the hamlet's remarkable solidarity.
"I have now served for over 30 years with the Canadian Coast Guard and am on my 20th Arctic voyage," he said.
"The village of Pangnirtung has marked me forever - yes, with the beauty of its landscape, but I also truly believe that landscape's beauty is greatly deepened by the beauty of its people."
