A group of teenagers is being hailed as heroes after their quick thinking helped rescue an 8-year-old boy who slipped from a chairlift at a ski resort in Vancouver, British Columbia last week.
According to CNN, the incident occurred at Grouse Mountain on Wednesday. Video footage shows the boy dangerously dangling from the chair while being held up only by his father.
That's when 14-year-old James MacDonald and his friends sprang into action. "He was starting to flail about and get extremely panicked," MacDonald told CNN.
The group said that they asked a man nearby to gather some of the orange netting that's typically used to indicate out-of-bounds areas and also stripped some padding off a pole to use as a cushion. One of the teens, Gabriel Neilson tried to keep the boy calm throughout the ordeal.
Eventually, they told the boy to take his skis off and asked the father to let go. The boy landed safely in the net without injury. However, the child was attended to by the resort's patrol and later sent to the hospital as a precautionary measure.
"Safety is our top priority and we will be taking appropriate action based on the results of the investigation," Grouse Mountain spokesperson Julia Grant said in a statement. "Grouse Mountain is incredibly appreciative of those who assisted in Wednesday's chairlift incident. Their quick thinking and immediate actions are commendable."
The teenage rescuers were rewarded for their efforts when Grouse Mountain President Michael Cameron met with them to thank them personally and award them each with a complimentary season pass.
Last week's scary incident came just days after at least 16 people had to be rescued from a gondola at SeaWorld San Diego when a tripped circuit breaker caused the ride to stop suddenly.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
