The hikers were camping on the glacier when they encountered thick smoke from the wildfires which blocked their visibility. In addition, embers were falling from the sky landing on the hikers’ tent. Despite these conditions, Apple’s Emergency SOS via Satellite still worked allowing the rescue team to find the location of the hikers. The hikers got the rescue underway by using the satellite-based emergency service to send text messages to emergency services.
The hikers found themselves in a very difficult situation. Mark Jennings-Bates, manager of the Kaslo Search and Rescue team, gave Apple’s Emergency SOS via Satellite feature high praise noting that the iPhone saved the hikers’ lives.
We were very fortunate to get a helicopter in there, we nearly had to abandon the rescue attempt. It’s like a war zone.We were just able to sneak over a ridge [with the helicopter] and found them exactly where the cellphone ping said they were, which is really unusual and very satisfying. In this instance, their cellphone literally saved their lives.”-Mark Jennings-Bates, manager, Kaslo Search and Rescue team
Jennings-Bates made this comment even though the CBC News report said it turned out that the hikers were well prepared and were able to get themselves to an area where they would not have been threatened for a few days. The safe spot was located at the toe of the glacier, surrounded by rocks and next to an alpine lake.
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