Hiker and dog rescued by rope after falling off ledge near Rothesay

A man and his dog, stuck on a cliff 22 metres above the KennebecasisRiver, were hoisted to safety Monday bya high-angle rescue team from Saint John.

The man was hiking near Minister's Face on Long Islandshortly before5 p.m. on Monday, when his dog fell over a ledge, said Mike Boyle, division chief with theKennebecasisValley Fire Department.

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The hiker tried to rescue the dog and ended up falling more than nine metres.

Then he got stuck on a ledge about 75 feet above the water, Boyle said.

About 20 people helped in the rescue, including firefighters from the Kingston Peninsula and members of the Canadian Coast Guard's Inshore Rescue Boat Service.

The high-angle rescue team was called infrom the Saint JohnFire Department.

"A rescue from the water wasn't going to be possible," Boyle said.

The island is across from theRothesayYacht Club.

Hiker and his dog saved by rescue team

6 years ago

Duration 0:42

Man tried to rescue his dog and ended up falling about nine metres.

"They had to hike 30 minutes to an hour to hike to get above where he was and then they rescued him by rope back onto the trail," Boyle said.

The Rothesay man was brought to the yacht club by the coast guard. Boyle said he believes the dog was rescued the same way.

Paramedics checked the man and he was not injured, but thedog couldn't walk, so a veterinarian provided emergency care, Boyle said.

Boyle said it took more than four hours to hoist the man up the cliff and get him to shore in Rothesay.

"We're lucky he [hiker] wasn't injured," he said. "It's just a long and prolonged rescue."