Footage has emerged of the dramatic rescue attempt of a boy who was spotted dangling from a ski lift. The incident happened at the Grouse Mountain ski resort in Vancouver on Wednesday, February 27.
The boy's ordeal began sometime before author Carolina Prada Akoglu began filming, after he partially fell out of the ski cart he was sitting in. He then precariously hang on for dear life while strangers rushed to his aid.
In the clip, the boy can be seen dangling as a group of strangers form below the lift, frantically trying to come up with a solution to a situation which looks like it will only end in disaster.
This the footage Akoglu captured of the dramatic rescue attempt:Then, from outside of the view of the camera, two strangers appear holding a section of orange mesh fencing before walking over to the boy. He then kicks off his skis to make the drop a smoother before strangers gather around the makeshift net to create the best possible catch zone.
Then, after a little hesitation, he finally lets go and, remarkably, lands unscathed.
The people who saved the boy were subsequently interviewed by CBC - and it turns out that they were actually a group of teenage friends. One of them, James MacDonald, 14, said: "Everyone was sort of just standing around looking up at this poor kid. I said to the lady next to me, he's not going to be able to hold on for much longer, because he was struggling."
James' friends then decided to look for material that could be used to catch him and that's when they discovered the mesh fencing which led to him eventually being saved. One of the teens then told the boy to kick his skis off.
The group are now being hailed as heroes after the footage emerged online, although this was never their intention. They have, however, admitted that they have learned a number of valuable lessons from the incident.
"Teamwork," said Gabriel Neilson, 13. "And staying calm."
"Communication," added MacDonald. "Telling everyone the plan and pursuing it."
Ethan Harvey, 13, then referred to the safety bar which caused the boy to fall out and insisted that all skiers should "put the bar down".