Two pulled from sea cave near Owen Point
SEATTLE – Two people were rescued by the Coast Guard from a sea cave at Owen Point on Vancouver Island near Port Renfrew, B.C., Monday.
The Canadian coast guard in Victoria, B.C., notified Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles at 5:40 p.m. that a man had reported two of his friends were trapped in the cave. While a Canadian vessel and Cormorant helicopter crew were dispatched by Victoria, an HH-65 helicopter crew from Port Angeles was launched along with a 47-foot response boat crew from Coast Guard Station Neah Bay. The NOAA vessel Miller Freeman was also notified and diverted to the scene.
The Coast Guard helicopter crew located the cave-like hole at 6:50 p.m. and proceeded to lower a swimmer who pulled the couple to safety with help from the pair’s friends. The two had been swept by the sea into the cave along with a third man while hiking with two other companions at approximately 9:30 a.m. Two of the five American hikers managed to swim to shore, but their friends were trapped until one of the men extricated himself from the cave and hiked to a cabin to call for help. All five hikers, four men and one woman, were found and flown to Port Renfrew, B.C., for medical attention. No serious injuries were reported.
