A Japanese diplomat was rescued by Brucejack gold mine workers at the Bell Irving Bridge on Highway 37 Monday, June 3.
The unnamed diplomat was on a solo cycling trip from Seattle, Washington to Fairbanks, Alaska with no one aware of his location, when he lost control on the wet bridge grating. Fortunately for the injured cyclist, a Brucejack coach bus was passing by and noticed his plight.
Upon encounter with the injured cyclist, Senior Safety Advisor of Brucejack, Travis Beebe, administered first aid and moved the cyclist onto the bus with the help of a Procon Mining employee and others. They then decided to proceed toward the Wildfire camp, which was 20 minutes away. The Wildfire camp is the start of Brucejack controlled access road off of Highway 37.
Knipple Advanced Care Paramedic, Bruce Young helicoptered to the clinic at Wildfire and stabilized the injured diplomat. He was then flown to Mills Memorial Hospital in Terrace for further treatment before he was discharged on Saturday, June 8 and returned home.
"I firmly believe that without the support of John Sheehan and other members of management, who facilitated the use of Newmont’s resources such as the chopper, medical personnel, clinic, and more, as well as the initial critical interventions and subsequent actions, this story would have had a vastly different outcome," Beebe said.
Nolan Reynolds (First Aid Supporter), Scott Slinn (First Aid Supporter), Robin Czarnecki (First Aid Supporter), and the Wildfire Security Team and staff were other key contributors in the successful rescue.