A woman is lucky to be alive after plunging 100 feet down a cliff at Parksville’s Little Mountain on Wednesday.
The drama unfolded at about 2:30 p.m. when two hikers at the popular recreation spot reported to police they heard calls for help from the bottom of the cliff.
Oceanside RCMP Corporal Jesse Foreman said emergency services were immediately mobilized, with RCMP, the BC Ambulance Service, Arrowsmith Search and Rescue and Errington Fire Department responding.
Arrowsmith Search and Rescue spokesperson Ken Neden said about 20 SAR volunteers raced to the mountain and found the 45-year-old woman alive at the bottom of the highest part of the cliff.
“We sent a stretcher down while some firefighters and an ambulance attendant hiked her to a spot where it wasn’t so high.”
The woman was hoisted to the top of the cliff, where she was stabilized and flown by helicopter to Victoria General Hospital, where she was listed in critical condition.
Search and Rescue technician Joe Kinch said SAR teams have been called to the site on several occasions over the years, but this was the first time the subject of the search has survived the fall.
Foreman said the exact circumstances surrounding the incident are currently under investigation. However, this incident is not being treated as suspicious in nature.
