Iqaluit, Nunavut - A 90-year-old
was saved by his 12-year-old hunting companion last week after
the two were caught in a sudden blizzard. The elder Buster Kailek
and Byron Alonak went caribou hunting on Friday afternoon and
were found in a shelter four days later.
They were supposed to return Sunday
afternoon, but a blizzard set in and their snow machine hit
a rock. The two were forced to walk through the biting wind
and -40 C temperatures. They finally managed to get to the
cabin where a rescue team found them.
Grant St. Germaine of the Kugluktuk
RCMP says the older Kailek would have died if Alonak didn't
help him.
"Byron's mom ... indicated
to me that Byron had told her Buster had fallen down several
times," St. Germaine explains. "He wanted to go
to sleep and the boy kept getting him up, kept getting him
to continue going along ... The boy also pulled Buster through
the last 50 feet or so into the cabin."
St. Germaine says the younger Alonak
was released from the Kugluktuk Health Centre after receiving
treatment for exposure and frostbite.
The head nurse at the health centre
says Kailek is still receiving treatment for frostbite to
his feet. She says he has some bruising from the crash and
was flown to Yellowknife for further examination.
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