French hikers require helicopter rescue during final hours of 3-month adventure in B.C.

Two hikers from France needed a helicopter lift after they got stuck on a high ledge in the Beaufort Range on Vancouver Island.

They had been hiking for the past three months and were hours away the end of their adventure, according to a Facebook post from the Alberni Valley Rescue Squad.

The rescue squad responded shortly before 7 p.m. on June 14.

After connecting with the hikers by phone, volunteers figured out where they were and determined that a helicopter and hoist team would be their most feasible option for extracting them. The aircraft was made available through Ascent Helicopters.

“Rescuers were lowered into the area and then had to rappel nearly 75 feet to be able to get to the hikers,” the post reads. “The two travellers from France were then placed in special rescue harnesses and plucked off the ledge using the helicopter’s on-board hoist.”

The hikers were safely in Port Alberni within about 2.5 hours of calling for help.

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