Sounds of a powerful helicopter thumped in the night air Tuesday around 10 p.m. making Campbell River residents wonder if somebody was lost or a vessel was in distress.
Campbell River resident Dennis Parfitt heard the helicopter as well and looked out his front window to see it hovering over a Coast Guard vessel offshore from the Rockland Road intersection with Highway 19A, so he took some pictures.
Canadian Coast Guard spokesperson Kiri Westnedge confirmed that it was a training exercise between the Canadian Coast Guard’s Campbell River Lifeboat Crew’s vessel the Cape Palmerston and 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron’s CH-140 Cormorant helicopter out of Comox.
“During this exercise, Search and Rescue Technicians were hoisted on to the CCGS Cape Palmerston,” Westnedge said. “We train with our marine response partners on a regular basis so that when an incident occurs, we work together as a stronger, more effective team.”