Two paramedics are dead after ambulance goes into lake

Two paramedics are dead after ambulance goes into lake
No names released
Dan Burritt Oct 19, 2010 13:04:06 PM
18 Comment(s)  24 Recommendation(s) TOFINO (NEWS1130) - Search and rescue crews are at Kennedy Lake near Long Beach on Vancouver Island after an ambulance plunged into it this morning, killing two paramedics.

RCMP Sgt. Kevin Murray says the ambulance left West Coast General Hospital in Port Alberni at 4:30 a.m., presumably heading back to Tofino.  Police were called by Emergency Health Services at 7:30 a.m. to look for an overdue ambulance and crew.

Meanwhile, a maintenance worker noticed a debris trail off Highway 4, down a steep embankment into Kennedy Lake where the ambulance sat under 30 feet of water.

"This is another sad day in the history of the ambulance service.  Unfortunately, two paramedics have lost their lives in the line of duty," says B.J. Chute with the Ambulance Paramedics of BC.

The stretch of Highway 4 where the ambulance went off the road is said to be very tight and potentially dangerous for larger vehicles.

"For passenger vehicles, it is definitely driveable and safe. It is not for trucks. The road is just a bit too narrow. You've got the big cliff drop-off on one side and the cliff and the rock face wall on the other side," says Ucluelet mayor Eric Russcher, who adds the Transport Minister has been approached about the road many times.