WATCH: A medevac helicopter lands then takes off again at Cowichan Secondary School after it’s unable to land at the helipad at the Cowichan District Hospital. This video does not contain sound. Courtesy of Ben Rogers.
A medevac helicopter was unable to land at the Cowichan District Hospital Thursday afternoon but was able to touch down at Cowichan Secondary School shortly after.
According to Fatima Siddiqui, a spokesperson from BC Emergency Health Services, the helicopter could not land on the hospital’s helipad due to debris and the high winds. Siddiqui said the helicopters need to be able to move around safely.
“Helicopters can shift 15 to 20 feet,” she said.
The medevac helicopter was picking up two patients at the Cowichan District Hospital. Siddiqui said one of the patients, who was in serious but non life-threatening condition, was taken to the helicopter and transported to another hospital. The other patient ended up moving to a different hospital in a ground ambulance.
Ben Rogers, a student at Cowichan Secondary School, said at around 12:50 p.m. he and his friends were going to go somewhere to eat but when they got outside, they saw the weather was terrible. Rogers then took out his phone to film the weather and was able to watch the helicopter slowly descend.
“I came out of school only to see a helicopter slowly that could barely fly,” Rogers said.
Alexa Huffman
