NELSON, British Columbia, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- A snowmobiler is recovering from broken bones after surviving a 100-foot plunge down an abandoned mine shaft in Canada, authorities say.
Ken Gadicke was riding his snowmobile in the Kootenay Pass area of British Columbia with several companions Tuesday when his machine went down the shaft, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.
The opening of the shaft was uncovered but concealed by built-up snow, rescuers said.
It took several hours to extricate Gadicke, who was hospitalized in stable condition with an injured arm and broken ankle, the CBC said.
"The whole snowmobile went down the shaft," Randy Lall, president of the Nelson search and rescue team. "The snowmobile stopped on the first ledge, which was probably 20 feet down, and they pulled the snowmobile out in order to be able to access this shaft.
"The snowmobiler's friends had been able to descend to where the injured snowmobiler had fallen, which was approximately 100 feet into this mineshaft through a series of vertical drops and ramp-type of features and bring him back up to within approximately 30 feet of the surface," he said.
"It is just amazing that the snowmobiler and his rescuers were able to navigate though this maze in almost pitch dark and just a single flashlight and very wet and risky conditions and not fall into these other shafts that branched off into directions unknown."
Three snowmobilers have died in accidents in the province this week, the CBC said.
