Teamwork Amid Tragedy

Every STARS mission is unique. This one highlights the incredible collaboration between STARS and the many first-response teams that attended a mass-casualty incident in the Rockies.

On the afternoon of June 19, 2025, a massive rockslide took place at Bow Glacier Falls in Banff National Park, along the Icefields Parkway. In total, 13 people were successfully rescued from the scene.

An estimated 100 personnel responded to the rockfall alongside two STARS crews, including Parks Canada visitor safety specialists, RCMP, Kananaskis Mountain Rescue, Lake Louise Fire Department, Alpine Helicopters, Alberta Health Services (AHS) Emergency Medical
Services (EMS), and Banff EMS.

STARS pilots conducted a thorough scene assessment, which was critical before landing. The Kananaskis Mountain Rescue team, with Alpine Helicopters, was able to fly the most critically injured patients via a long line (an extended cable attached to a stretcher) to the waiting STARS helicopters — one that was able to land at the site and the other that was staged near Bow Lake.

An Allied Approach

Dr. Paul Tourigny was the transport physician on the STAR-1 crew that day and stayed at the site for several hours to manage patients. “Triage at the scene was challenging because of how all of the potential patients were spread out,” he explained. “Some of them could not be moved very easily.” Tourigny returned to the Calgary base at 20:20 that night.

“In remote mass casualty incidents (MCI), having the capacity to move people is important,” Tourigny emphasized. “This is where you see the value in a multiservice approach. Understanding all the resources available to you and being able to communicate with the on-scene incident commanders made this markedly easier. I cannot overstate how proud I am to have worked with all these services during this MCI. Each of them brought an essential skill set that allowed 13 people to be rescued from the scene, assessed, and offered victim services.”

Response Map