Tourist suffers broken ankle on hike; rescued by LSAR
By Terresa McCall
Reporter-SKNVibes.com
~~Adz:Right~~ BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - A tourist, rescued on Monday at the Bloody Point Mountain, has lauded the unit that assisted him for their professionalism and quick response to his distress call.
Robert Sammoms of Houston, Texas and his wife Sherry were part of a team that began a hike to the Bloody Point Mountain area yesterday morning. All was going well until sometime in the afternoon when Robert accidentally broke his ankle.
SKNVibes understands from Abdias Samuel, head of the Land Search and Rescue (LSAR) team, that about 4:00 in the afternoon a rescue call was received and a plan was immediately put into action. He said that in addition to the LSAR team, members of the Strike Force had footed the journey to provided assistance.
“At about 16:00 hours yesterday we received information that a group of tourists went on a hike in the Bloody Point Mountain area and apparently one of them injured his foot and needed some assistance. The Land Search and Rescue team was activated, dispatched and arrived at the area at about 16:30 hours.”
Samuel explained that ascent into the mountain began and at about 45 minutes into the journey the rescue team met the injured man, other hikers and a number of locals.
“…we met the injured man Robert Sammons, his wife Sherry, along with some civilians, and they were on their way back down. We then assisted Mr. Sammons in getting to safety and getting medical treatment. His foot was already banded so we put him in a litter basket (stretcher) and we lowered him down.”
The LSAR leader explained to SKNVibes that the LSAR team, the hikers and Sammons, reached back to civilization at approximately 8:30 that evening, and on reaching the foot of the trail an Emergency Medical Services unit took the injured man to the Joseph N. France General Hospital for treatment.
Sammons has since been released from the hospital, but he is still nursing his broken right ankle. SKNVibes contacted Sammons and his wife and they both hailed the rescue effort a success and praised the team for “a job well done”.
“We were very happy with the rescue services. They did an excellent job,” Sherry expressed.
Sammons, also grateful for the lengths taken to ensure he was returned to safety, said, “The rescue guys did a great job. I’ve been all over the world and the service here is second to none. The hospitality of the people is also great.”
Samuel took the opportunity to remind and or inform a number of guidelines that potential hikers are to follow. These guidelines, he said, could prove useful.
“We are asking persons when going on hikes to register with the nearest police station and state when they are going up and when they expect to come back down…We are also asking hiking guides to sensitise these people as to the dos and don’ts, because some of these accidents can be avoided.”
