Reporter beats rescuers to crash victim

MONTREAL, March 14 (UPI) -- A Quebec woman who crashed her helicopter west of Montreal can thank a TV news cameraman for finding her before rescue crews arrived.

At 7:15 p.m. Thursday, the unidentified 43-year-old woman made a 911 call to say she had crashed near Lake St. Louis, Montreal's Gazette newspaper reported Friday.

Police, fire and ambulance crews set up two stations near the lake and spoke with the woman until her cell phone went dead, the newspaper said.

After crews had been searching for two hours, Gilbert La;porte, a cameraman for Radio-Canada, the French-language national radio and TV broadcaster, decided to set out on his own over the frozen lake, he told reporters.

"I could only see a tiny black spot that looked like it was on the other side of the world, but I thought that might be her," Laporte said. "I took a chance and walked out to her."

Using his cell phone, he directed rescuers to where they were. The woman was then taken to a hospital complaining of soreness in her legs and back, the report said.