Coast Guard rescues Arctic Bay, Nunavut, narwhal hunters
Hunters sent ‘help’ and SOS messages via SPOT device
CBC News
Posted: Sep 6, 2012 7:58 AM CT
Last Updated: Sep 6, 2012 11:22 AM CT
The Terry Fox Coast Guard ship happened to be close to the community and was able to help the hunters. (The Canadian Press)
A Canadian Coast Guard ship rescued five Arctic Bay, Nunavut, narwhal hunters Wednesday.
Christian Cafiti, with the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton, Ont., said someone from Arctic Bay called to notify them about a ‘Help’ signal received from a SPOT satellite message device in the morning.
Cafiti said by early in the afternoon, the same device sent out an SOS signal.
Luckily, the Coast Guard ship Terry Fox was near the community assisting cargo ships. Crew members responded to the call and found five people on shore who had been narwhal hunting.
“The hunting party had been hunting for quite a while and due to weather they were delayed for at least three days, so they were running out of heating fuel,” said Cafiti.
All five were brought back to the community.
The hunters sent the signals because they had been delayed by rain, snow and high winds. No one was injured.
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