A male ATV driver’s condition is unknown after reportedly driving off a cliff in northeast of Naramata.
Penticton RCMP said the driver drove off a cliff on Sept. 5 and Penticton Search and Rescue (PENSAR) responded.
According to PENSAR, the male driver was with a group of ATV riders in the Big Meadow Lake area near Naramata when he had gone off the road and was in serious condition.
PENSAR mobilized 15 personnel who responded with ground units and a three-person air evacuation team. Search and rescue manager on-duty, Ron Muir, was maintaining contact with the ATV party, providing them with details as the rescue operation was underway, PENSAR said in a press release.
Within an hour of receiving the call, the PENSAR helicopter extraction crew had secured the man and tended to his injuries. The man was airlifted to West Kelowna where he was turned over to an awaiting ambulance team and transported to Kelowna General Hospital.
This is the fourth serious ATV incident that PENSAR has been involved with in the past month. Three of the four incidents resulted in serious injuries and one sudden death.