Two skydivers are lucky to be alive after crashing into a group of trees in Central Saanich over the weekend.
Firefighters were called to Mount Newton Saturday afternoon after wind blew two men off course and into a tree.
Crews say the first challenge was finding the skydivers who were caught up in the deep bush.
Once the men were located, about 100 feet off the ground, officials determined they needed to call in an arborist to climb the tree and get them down safely.
“It’s very challenging when you’re dealing with nature and trees, these were thin trees … not very strong so there was the risk of them breaking,” said Central Saanich Fire Chief Chris Vrabel. “The collective knowledge amongst … four agencies that were here is why we had a successful rescue.”
It took more than two hours to get the skydivers down.
One man fractured his arm and both had cuts and scrapes. They were taken to hospital for treatment.
The arborist who helped rescue the men says it was the first time he’s responded to such a call in his 20 years on the job.
“It was overwhelming,” said Nathan Franklyn. “It was just trying to assess the situation and just try to find a way that’s going to be safe for them to get down.”
