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An Australian adventurer on a solo-mission to the North Pole was rescued by a Canadian military search team on Thursday night after he fell through the ice about 300 kilometres short of his goal.
Tom Smitheringale, attempting to become the first Australian to trek unassisted to the North Pole, activated his emergency beacon just after noon Thursday, which transmitted a distress signal and gave his exact position, said Jim Pizzey, a member of Smitheringale's support staff in Perth, Australia.
"I got a call just after midnight, western Australia time, that he was in trouble," said Pizzey. "And I immediately went into action to try and figure out how to get my mate rescued."
Pizzey said he first contacted a charter company that might have been able to help get Smitheringale off the ice, but they told him that it would take them a full day to reach the frostbitten and hypothermic man.
"I knew he wasn't hitting that emergency signal if it wasn't serious, so I knew he couldn't wait a day," said Pizzey.
He then contacted the RCMP and the Canadian military to assist in the rescue.
The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Trenton, Ont. got the call about an hour after the initial distress signal was sent, and a search and rescue team from Yellowknife that happened to be on an exercise in the area was deployed to Smitheringale's location, said JRCC spokesman Capt. Mike Robert.
Although the weather was favourable for the rescue mission, Smitheringale was about 460 kilometres northwest of Canadian Forces Station Alert — the edge of the operating range of the two twin otter search planes and civilian helicopter that were dispatched to the accident site, said Robert.
"Although extra fuel was loaded into the helicopter, the team managed to collect the man with only about five minutes of fuel left," he said.
Smitheringale was picked up around 9 p.m. Thursday and transported to CFS Alert suffering from hypothermia and frostbite in his extremities, said Robert.
CFS Alert, on the northeastern tip of Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, is the most northern permanently inhabited settlement in the world, and is approximately 800 kilometres from the geographic North Pole.
In an email to Pizzey from Smitheringale at CFS Alert, the Aussie adventurer described his harrowing experience as "a bad fall into the ice" and that he "came close to the grave."
But, he added that he is well, and he is "getting the VIP rockstar treatment" from his Canadian rescuers.
More at link
Excellent job!!
An Australian adventurer on a solo-mission to the North Pole was rescued by a Canadian military search team on Thursday night after he fell through the ice about 300 kilometres short of his goal.
Tom Smitheringale, attempting to become the first Australian to trek unassisted to the North Pole, activated his emergency beacon just after noon Thursday, which transmitted a distress signal and gave his exact position, said Jim Pizzey, a member of Smitheringale's support staff in Perth, Australia.
"I got a call just after midnight, western Australia time, that he was in trouble," said Pizzey. "And I immediately went into action to try and figure out how to get my mate rescued."
Pizzey said he first contacted a charter company that might have been able to help get Smitheringale off the ice, but they told him that it would take them a full day to reach the frostbitten and hypothermic man.
"I knew he wasn't hitting that emergency signal if it wasn't serious, so I knew he couldn't wait a day," said Pizzey.
He then contacted the RCMP and the Canadian military to assist in the rescue.
The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Trenton, Ont. got the call about an hour after the initial distress signal was sent, and a search and rescue team from Yellowknife that happened to be on an exercise in the area was deployed to Smitheringale's location, said JRCC spokesman Capt. Mike Robert.
Although the weather was favourable for the rescue mission, Smitheringale was about 460 kilometres northwest of Canadian Forces Station Alert — the edge of the operating range of the two twin otter search planes and civilian helicopter that were dispatched to the accident site, said Robert.
"Although extra fuel was loaded into the helicopter, the team managed to collect the man with only about five minutes of fuel left," he said.
Smitheringale was picked up around 9 p.m. Thursday and transported to CFS Alert suffering from hypothermia and frostbite in his extremities, said Robert.
CFS Alert, on the northeastern tip of Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, is the most northern permanently inhabited settlement in the world, and is approximately 800 kilometres from the geographic North Pole.
In an email to Pizzey from Smitheringale at CFS Alert, the Aussie adventurer described his harrowing experience as "a bad fall into the ice" and that he "came close to the grave."
But, he added that he is well, and he is "getting the VIP rockstar treatment" from his Canadian rescuers.
More at link
Excellent job!!
