Vehicle crashes through 2nd-storey parkade and hits ground near UBC campus: Vancouver Fire Rescue
Heavy snow is falling on first responders as they race to rescue a person trapped in a car after it crashed through a concrete parkade near the University of British Columbia Wednesday morning.
Vancouver Fire Rescue Services spokesperson Matthew Trudeau said crews were called to the intersection of Westbrook Mall and Thunderbird Boulevard on the city's west side just after 9:30 a.m.
Technical and heavy rescue teams were soon called in to assist with what Trudeau is calling a "complex" rescue.
According to Trudeau, the vehicle fell to ground level after crashing from the second storey of a parking garage and, as of 12 p.m., the occupant of the vehicle remained inside the car, which is pinned nose down to the ground.
Technical and heavy rescue teams from the Vancouver Fire Rescue Services are assisting with the complex rescue Wednesday. (CBC )
Trudeau said the complexity of the rescue is due to structural concerns, the precarious position of the car, and the location of a battery bank structure underneath the vehicle that is currently energized.
"We are working as quick as we can to get the person out," said Trudeau.
He said the first priority is the safety of the vehicle occupant and rescue crews.
He said because of how the vehicle landed, part of the concrete structure is hanging loose off the side of the building, posing a risk.
"We don't want anything to fall as we move the car or cut open doors," said Trudeau.
No information about the person in the vehicle has been provided to CBC News, as Trudeau said those details are still being gathered.
