Hiker breaks leg, crawls five miles to safety on Vancouver Island

PORT HARDY, B.C. – A man who broke his leg hiking near the remote northwest tip of Vancouver Island crawled about five miles through the woods to a beach and was rescued, officials said.

Unable to walk or fashion a crutch after he slipped between some logs, the 48-year-old man managed to crawl to the shore of San Josef Bay, where he found a couple camping on Monday, Canadian search and rescue officials said.

The couple hiked for 90 minutes to get cellular phone coverage to summon aid, then returned to the man and cared for him in their tent.

Because of darkness and bad weather, a Cormorant rescue helicopter was unable to reach the man until Tuesday morning. He was said to be in good shape after being taken to Comox, site of a Canadian Armed Forces base about halfway between Port Hardy and Victoria, which is at the southern end the island.