Metro Vancouver Transit Police say a man is "lucky to be alive" aver falling "several storeys" into a ravine off of what appeared to be a wall from a demolished building.
Vancouver Is Awesome was speaking with Transit Police Sgt. Clint Hampton and Const. Michael Yake near Gateway SkyTrain Station in Surrey around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday night (Sept. 15) when a concerned resident alerted them to a man who was screaming for help.
After running through a grassy, empty lot in the dark, the officers followed the resident through a hole in a chain-link fence and proceeded along the side of a steep ravine. They continued several metres along the edge until they came across an individual who was moaning in pain at the bottom. Shining their flashlights down the embankment, they could see that he was injured and did not have a way to get out.
While the man expressed that he had fallen from high up above, it wasn't clear exactly where he had fallen from. However, Hampton notes "it appears he was attempting to complete a large graffiti mural on what appeared to be a wall from a demolished building."
There was also a great deal of reinforcement steel sticking out along the side of the building. A woman in the area commented he was lucky that he didn't land on the metal.
Although the extent of his injuries is unclear, fire rescue teams were able to assist him in climbing up a ladder at a lower part of the ravine. Once he made it to the top, they also helped him get through the chain-link fence, where he was met by paramedics.
"Officers were fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time to be in a position to help this man," adds Hampton.
"Hopefully, this was a hard lesson learned and he’ll turn his attention to new, legal and safer hobbies."
