A handful of creative friends helped rescue a pair of local hikers by turning their turbans into a makeshift rope earlier this month.
Five friends were out for a hike at the Lower Falls Trail at Golden Ears Provincial Park when they noticed a man trapped in a pool next to rushing waters. The man was with a friend, but both were struggling to make it back to the trail due to the strong waters and slippery surface.
The friend asked the group for help and pleaded they call 9-1-1, however they didn’t have cell phone reception but creatively improvised instead.
“We didn’t have any other equipment to save them,” the 22-year-old Kuljinder Singh. “We only had our turbans to save them.”
Three members of the group untied their turbans and attached it to their jackets to make a rope. The quick-thinking proved to be successful as they managed to save both the stranded hikers by pulling them to safety.
“In my Sikh culture, the turban is for that, to help save the life of people who need the help,” added Singh.
In the midst of their heroic efforts, someone notified Pitt Meadows Search and Rescue who arrived shortly after. The volunteers stated they were amazed and applauded the friends.
“I’d never heard anything like that or seen anybody doing anything like that. I thought it was quite resourceful – they showed great presence of mind to put something together in such a short time.” stated search manager Rick Laing.
“The water is extremely fast and there is pretty much no chance of survival if you would’ve fallen in and gone over the waterfalls,” he added.
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